Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi has revealed that he has devised a plan to keep Manchester City striker Erling Braut Haaland quiet in Saturday's Champions League final.
The Norwegian has enjoyed a record-breaking debut campaign in front of goal for the Citizens, scoring a remarkable 52 goals in as many matches across all competitions.
Twelve of Haaland's goals have been scored in just 10 Champions League matches this season, four more than his nearest challenger Mohamed Salah (eight) and eight more than Inter's top scorer in the tournament Edin Dzeko (four).
Haaland has recently endured a dry spell in front of goal, though, netting just once in his last seven City appearances, and he was unable to get his name on the scoresheet in either leg of the Citizens' utterly dominant 5-1 aggregate victory over holders Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
Nevertheless, Inter boss Inzaghi is fully aware of the threats that Haaland can pose to his side on Saturday and has called for a collective effort to prevent City's No.9 from having any joy in Istanbul.
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Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Inzaghi said: "We know how strong Haaland is. We've prepared something to keep him quiet, although the entirety of Inter will need to be good in limiting him and the whole team. They defend well, they attack well. We will try to play our football and the right game.
"We all know what a great player he is and how strong City are. However we will keep a close eye on all the City players, We need to stop Haaland and also the other players."
Asked where the final will be won and lost, the Nerazzurri boss said: "The midfield will be key tomorrow but all areas will be important. We will need to run and we need hearts and minds too.
"We need to go the extra yard tomorrow. We need to stay sharp and focused, we need to give our all, we need heart to get over the finishing line."
"We know the match we need to play, we know City are a top team," Inzaghi continued. "They are the best team in the world right now. They have proved this even when they have lost.
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"We're not relaxed: we're fully focused, we'll fight bit by bit against a truly strong side. We are proud to be at this stage, we will give our all. We will play with total focus, we will need to limit our errors.
"It's the 57th game of our season, and the previous 56 enabled us to be here – the difficult moments made us grow. We deserved to lose some games, we deserved to win other matches. We put in a crazy effort, and that effort took us to Istanbul.
"We have the opportunity to write ourselves into the history of this club. It's difficult, but we'll try our best.
"We know what this match means for everyone at Inter, from the club to the fans. The fans have always been with us. We have great responsibility."
While Inter are looking to win the Champions League for the first time since 2010, Man City are yet to get their hands on the trophy of Europe's premier club competition, but success on Saturday will see them clinch a historic treble having already won the Premier League and FA Cup this season.
Oliver Thomas
