(Reuters) – Manchester City are more composed and confident ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final against Inter Milan after facing setbacks in the previous campaigns, defender John Stones said as the Premier League champions chase a historic treble.
The 29-year-old England international and his team mates can achieve sporting immortality in Istanbul, where City can be crowned European champions for the first time and match arch-rivals Manchester United’s treble in 1999.
Stones, who experienced the disappointment of losing the 2021 Champions League final to Chelsea, said they need to ensure history does not repeat itself.
“Don’t (let it) happen again, first and foremost. It was somewhere where we had never been before and a situation we had never been in,” Stones told Sky Sports.
“Now, being through that difficult time, coming out on the losing side was super hard and hit home hard. That’s one of the biggest feelings that sticks with you, and you don’t want to feel that again.
“We have seemed a lot calmer and confident going into this game. Knowing that we should believe in ourselves and in what we have achieved already and how we’re playing, there are so many factors that come into play.”
Having secured the Premier League and FA Cup, City are favourites to triumph over Inter as they eye their first taste of European glory.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
