Manchester City on brink of continental treble after FA Cup win
Manchester City defeated Manchester United, 2-1, in the FA Cup final and is a Champions League final win away from completing a rare continental treble for England, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season.
On Saturday, Ilkay Gundogan scored both of Man City's goals, including one 12 seconds into the game, the fastest goal in FA Cup final history.
Manchester City plays Inter Milan next Saturday in the Champions League Final. In two prior meetings, the teams split the matches, each scoring three goals in shutout wins.
This time, Manchester City has the edge. The club has seven wins, five draws and no losses in the Champions League this year and outscored Real Madrid 5-1 in aggregate during the semifinals. Inter is 7-3-2 and won its semifinal against AC Milan 2-1 in aggregate.
During the 2022-23 Champions League tournament, Manchester City has outscored its opponents 31-5. Inter has 19 goals while conceding 10.
Per OddsChecker, Man City (-225) is favored to complete the continental treble. Manchester United is the only other English club to achieve the feat, doing so during the 1998-99 season.
Inter is the only Italian club to record a continental treble, winning Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League in 2009-10.
While it would be a first for Manchester City, it wouldn't be for manager Pep Guardiola. He's solidified himself as an all-time great manager with this run and with another win, will complete his second continental treble. In 2008-09 as manager of Barcelona, the club won La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
Manchester City won a domestic treble under Guardiola in 2018-19, with wins in the Premier League and FA Cup coupled with an EFL Cup win. That season, Man City lost to Tottenham in the Champions League quarterfinals. This year, Man City lost to Southampton in the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup. With a win next Saturday, that's a trade Guardiola will be happy to have made.
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