2036 – De Bruyne is being forced off injured!
The City talisman tries to continue but after over-hitting a cross signals to the bench he can’t continue. Phil Foden is on.
2029 – Not a good sight for City. De Bruyne down receiving treatment, but is back on the pitch.
2027 – Chance!
Haaland so close to giving City the lead. The striker is sent clear by De Bruyne and his left-footed finish is well kept out by Onana.
2025 – Inter are giving the City players no time at all on the ball and Guardiola’s men are struggling to get their creative players into the contest. Food for thought for the manager.
2016 – The City owner is here.
2016 – A cagey opening 15 minutes. City are having the majority of possession as expected, but Inter are ultra aggressive and look like they have the potential to be a threat on the counter.
2011 – The fans’ view.
2006 – Chance!
City go close. Bernardo Silva cuts into the area from the right and whips a left-footed shot narrowly wide of the far top corner.
2000 – Kick off!
Inter get us under way in the Champions League final.
1945 – 15 minutes to kick off in Istanbul.
1942 – Walker “will be absolutely fuming” at being left on the bench, according to Rio Ferdinand.
“Inside the blood will be boiling,” he said on BT Sport.
1930 – Haaland getting his eye in.
1920 – City fans back home are also braced for the big match.
1910 – The City players are out on the pitch.
1907 – Guardiola revealed Walker’s omission was tactical rather than injured-related.
“He could be there, it was really tough because Kyle is so important,” he told BT Sport.
1905 – Black smoke billowed over the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in the hours prior to kick-off due to a fire at a nearby factory, but there was no suggestion it would affect the game.
1900 – The City squad are in the building.
Their team bus had to navigate the traffic congestion and perhaps arrived later than ideal, but was still at the stadium by 8.40pm local time, with the game due to start at 10pm.
1835 – The team news is in!
Kyle Walker is on the bench for City. The England full-back suffered an injury scare late in the closing minutes of the FA Cup final last weekend.
Walker did not feature in an open training session earlier in the week and, although the suggestion at the time was his absence was precautionary, his expected place in the side went to Nathan Ake.
Ake was likely to start at left-back, with Manuel Akanji switching to right-back.
Ederson returned in goal for Stefan Ortega, but the side was otherwise the same one that started both semi-final legs against Real Madrid and against Manchester United at Wembley last Saturday.
Dzeko starts ahead of Lukaku for Inter.
1820 – The stadium is filling up, despite reports of heavy traffic on the way to the ground.
1810 – Mario Balotelli won the treble with Inter in 2010 and was a Premier League and FA Cup winner in his three years at City. But the Italian is remaining strictly neutral tonight.
“I’m not going to put myself in one of the two sides,” he said on BT Sport.
1805 – As well as the players, the pundits are also gearing up for a big night.
1755 – Another English side has rather fond Champions League memories of the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. Hard to believe this was 18 years ago.
1740 – How Inter would love to have this man in his prime back in their midfield.
1735 – City owner Sheikh Mansour will be at tonight’s game, only the second game he has attended since his investment vehicle, the Abu Dhabi United Group, purchased City in 2008.
1725 – City are aiming to match the feat previously only achieved in English football by their cross-city rivals Manchester United in 1999, but how do their two seasons match up?
United lost only three games in their treble-winning season, but a remarkable 21 draws in 57 games across the three competitions in question sees City overshadow them in most other statistical categories.
Excluding the League Cup from both teams’ records and with their 57th and final game still to play, Pep Guardiola’s side have 41 wins (73.2 per cent) to United’s 33 (57.9 per cent), 144 goals to 121 and 25 clean sheets to 20.
They have conceded only 39 goals to their predecessors’ 56, scoring an average of 2.57 per game and conceding 0.70, compared to 2.12 against 0.98 for United.
1710 – Unlike City, Inter know what it takes to win this competition, though. Remember this?
1705 – We know all about City, but how about tonight’s opponents Inter? Let’s take a closer look at the side standing between City and the treble.
Their success is built on their mean defence. Simone Inzaghi’s combative team have kept a tournament-high eight clean sheets in their 12 matches, including five from six in the knockout stages, with goalkeeper Andre Onana a star performer.
They also boast Argentinian World Cup winner Lautaro Martinez up front, alongside two familiar faces in former City striker Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku.
They had a mediocre Serie A campaign, though, finishing 18 points behind champions Napoli to sit third and losing 12 of their 38 games.
City know this is their final to lose.
1703 – The trophy is here.
1650 – Another taste of the atmosphere out in Istanbul:
1640 – Let’s have a look at how both teams got here:
1625 – 52-goal striker Erling Haaland looked in relaxed mood at training yesterday, but says he is not immune to pressure.
“Of course I feel pressure, I would lie if I said I didn’t,” he said.
In fact the Norwegian has only one goal in his last seven outings, but Guardiola for one is not concerned – “I don’t have doubts. If you have doubts about Erling scoring you are a very lonely person.”
1615 – City go into the match as red-hot favourites and Pep Guardiola and Kevin De Bruyne both admitted on the eve of the game that winning the competition had become both a dream and an obsession.
“To achieve things you always have to have the correct proportion of obsession and desire. It’s a positive word for the desire and will to win it. It is of course a dream for us,” said Guardiola.
1610 – Our man in Istanbul is inside the Ataturk and has the very precise timings for tonight.
1605 – Less than four hours to kick-off and the atmosphere is building. Both sets of fans certainly seem to be in good spirits.
1600 – Good afternoon and welcome to the PA news agency’s Champions League final blog. Stay here for all the build-up, key match action and post-game reaction as Manchester City and Inter Milan slog it out in Istanbul.
Colombia 2-1 Argentina: James penalty avenges Copa America final loss
Colombia gained a measure of revenge for their Copa America final loss to Argentina by beating the Albiceleste 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Barranquilla.
Nestor Lorenzo's side approached Tuesday's clash at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez five points adrift of their opponents in the 10-man CONMEBOL qualification group, but a deserved win saw them close that gap to two points.
Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera, who was later carried off injured on a stretcher, headed in the opener after 25 minutes, nodding into an unguarded net after James Rodriguez sent a delicate cross over to the far post.
Argentina struggled to carve out clear-cut chances in the first half but levelled just three minutes into the second period, with James' slack pass being cut out by Nicolas Gonzalez, who darted into the area before sliding his finish home.
James was given a chance to redeem himself just 12 minutes later, however, as a VAR review led to Colombia being awarded a penalty for Nicolas Otamendi's trip on Daniel Munoz.
James – the Player of the Tournament at this year's Copa – made no mistake from 12 yards, sending Emiliano Martinez the wrong way for what proved to be the winner.
Colombia almost added a third goal at the death, only for Otamendi to nod Munoz's goal-bound flick off the line, but time still ran out on Argentina.
Data Debrief: Messi-less visitors come unstuck
Argentina made light of Lionel Messi's injury-enforced absence as they thrashed Chile 3-0 last time out, but they struggled to create chances without their talisman on Tuesday.
They ended the game having only hit the target with one of their 13 shots, with a total expected goals (xG) figure of 0.9, in contrast to Colombia's 2.99.
Prior to Tuesday's match, Argentina had only fallen behind on the road in a South American qualification game once under Lionel Scaloni, when fighting back to beat Bolivia 2-1 in October 2020. There was to be no comeback this time around.
Carsley far from comfortable despite perfect England start
Lee Carsley still feels far from comfortable in his role as interim England boss, though he was delighted to see the Three Lions make a perfect start to their Nations League campaign.
Harry Kane scored twice on his 100th international appearance as England beat Finland 2-0 at Wembley on Tuesday, having overcome the Republic of Ireland by the same scoreline on Saturday.
The victory made Carsley the first England manager to win his first two competitive games at the helm to nil since Steve McLaren achieved the feat in 2006.
Such was England's dominance against Ireland and Finland that goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was only forced into one save across the two games, in the 11th minute on Saturday.
Despite his impressive start, Carsley – who is seen as a leading contender to get the job on a permanent basis – feels there is plenty more to come.
"I definitely don't feel comfortable still, I have been out of my comfort zone," he told ITV Sport.
"It's been enjoyable but we have to make sure every single day we are producing high standards.
"We've been fortunate enough to get two good results and it's all about building on that."
Pickford, meanwhile, has been impressed by the impact made by some of the new faces called up by Carsley, many of whom played under him at under-21 level.
"It is new and it has been a short camp. A lot of young lads won the Under-21 Euros with the manager and they know the ideas," the Everton goalkeeper said.
"t was refreshing for the older lads – I always want to improve. With England there is a pathway from the younger age groups.
"The amount that come from the under-16s and get opportunities to play for the seniors is there, and it has been there on the manager side as well."
Lille midfielder Angel Gomes was among those to impress on his full debut, becoming the first player to start for England while playing for a French club since Marseille's Trevor Steven in June 1992 (versus France).
Gomes had more touches (130) and completed more passes (116) than any other player, while only Jack Grealish (53) bettered his 42 passes in the final third.
Chelsea's Noni Madueke also made his first England appearance from the bench, replacing Bukayo Saka and making a swift impact by teeing up Kane's second goal.
"It was great to make my first appearance for the national team and I'm really proud of myself," the winger told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"It has been a great week, the boys are great and the staff and players have made me feel welcome.
"It tried to go out there and be direct and cause problems. I got an assist for Harry on his 100th appearance – it can't get much better than that. It is fitting that Harry got both goals, it is his night."
England centurion Kane 'hungry to prove people wrong'
Harry Kane has a hunger to prove his doubters wrong, as he celebrated his 100th England cap by scoring twice against Finland.
Kane netted both of England's goals in a 2-0 victory at Wembley in the Nations League on Tuesday.
The England captain wore a pair of golden boots to mark his milestone match, while he was presented with a golden cap before kick-off.
He is the 10th player to make 100 appearances for the Three Lions, though the first to score twice in their landmark game. Wayne Rooney and Bobby Charlton each scored on their 100th England appearance.
Kane took criticism for some of his performances at Euro 2024, despite winning the Golden Boot, along with five other players, after scoring three goals en route to England reaching the final.
And the 31-year-old suggested the criticism only fuels his desire to keep going at the highest level.
"It was a big night for me, really proud," he told ITV Sport.
"I want to score goals and help the team. Whenever you are doubted, it makes you more hungry to prove people wrong.
"I always back myself to score goals and I am excited for the future."
Speaking at a post-match press conference, the Three Lions captain later added: "I don't think I was even thinking of 100 caps when I was on loan at Millwall, Norwich and Leicester.
"At that time it was about getting back into the Spurs team. I have always had good self-belief. I have learned a lot over the years with Mauricio [Pochettino] when he was at Spurs.
"The game is evolving a bit and it is great for me to keep learning. I would for sure be proud if I knew I was going to get 100 caps."
Interim boss Lee Carsley, who became the first England manager to win his first two competitive games and keep a clean sheet in both since Steve McClaren in 2006, added: "Harry took his goals really well, a big occasion for him. Kids being here, an emotional night, but really happy for Harry. He fully deserves all the plaudits.
"What I have noticed this week is he is highly motivated to play for England and score goals and to have a centre-forward like that, hopefully it continues."
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been trusted in his preferred right-back role by Carsley, provided the assist for Kane's sensational 57th-minute opener.
It was one of five chances the Liverpool star created on the night. Since the start of 2019, it is the third time he has created at least five chances in a game for the Three Lions, with no other player doing so on more than one occasion in that time.
"Trent backed it up with another great performance," Kane said of Alexander-Arnold.
"We always looked like the team who would break the deadlock. We spoke about being ruthless but in these games you have to keep knocking on the door and you will get your reward."
Carsley said prior to the match that he believes he can be the right manager to take England forward, and Kane hailed the impact the former Republic of Ireland international has had.
"The manager has come in with great energy, he talks a lot about freedom and attacking and hurting teams," added Kane, who is now on 85 goal involvements for England (68 goals, 17 assists).
"Of course there is room for improvement, but it's a great start for him."
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