"We are not beating around the bush," said Kyle Walker this week. "We know this is now a great opportunity, we have a second chance definitely with Pep and the group of players who have stayed around and we need to put right the wrongs we did against Chelsea."
Two years ago, Manchester City were confident ahead of their first Champions League final appearance, but there was still a lingering feeling in the back of fans' minds. Maybe also in the players' thoughts. It might not have been imposter syndrome, but it was certainly a feeling that the Champions League was maybe a bigger task than the Blues had dreamed of.
Pep Guardiola made changes to his starting XI vs Chelsea - something he hinted was a mistake this week - some players didn't rise to the occasion, and City returned from Porto with a silver medal. Fast forward two years and the dream of winning the Champions League has become an expectation.
For a side who have won most of their games and titles under Guardiola by not thinking about the bigger picture, there has been a mentality U-turn inside the City Football Academy of late that could be seen as a huge risk.
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Guardiola has steadily changed his tune in recent months when talking about the Champions League. Initially, the achievement was reaching the latter stages consistently, now he openly accepts that this squad at this club has to win the European Cup to be recognised internationally for the world-class team they are.
That view has been echoed by key players like Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Walker. "We don't win five Premier Leagues in six years if we are not a good team," said the England right-back. "We kind of know we are a good team but to be recognised globally as one of the best teams you need to win the Champions League."
Walker pointed to the experience of Porto in 2021, and how that will make City stronger. They know what to expect now, from the build-up, the pre-match fanfare, and the expectation. They are determined not to make the same mistakes. Rodri insists that to win a title like the Champions League, you have to lose first. Guardiola will surely stick with the trusted XI he saw beat Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, aside from one or two necessary changes.
Maybe a reason for City's new-found confidence is that they have proven themselves time and again in big games since that Chelsea defeat. They have won back-to-back Premier League titles, broken their FA Cup block, and seen off title challenges from Liverpool and Arsenal - rising to the challenge in pivotal head-to-head games. In Europe, they have beaten the elite clubs home and away - from PSG, Bayern, Real, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and more. They have only frozen once since Chelsea and that was at the Bernabeu last year, but they put that right this season.
They have done the hard work, and there is clearly a confidence in the squad that they are ready to take that final step.
Reflecting on City's run of one defeat in 27 games to put them on the brink of the treble, Ruben Dias said: “Everyone recognised the moment and everyone stepped up. That’s why we’re here today and have this opportunity to win a third competition this season. Now it’s about making it even more special.
“Everyone wants to be here and we’ve worked a lot to make the final, so we need to make it make sense now.”
With confidence flowing through the side, and a record that no side in the world can match over the last two years, there's no wonder City are approaching the 2023 final in a completely different mindset than two years ago. If anything, playing down the importance of Istanbul would be a bigger risk than talking it up.
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