Champions League final: Pep Guardiola has already confirmed one Man City starter vs Inter Milan

Pep Guardiola has already confirmed Ederson will start for Manchester City in the Champions League final against Inter Milan.

The goalkeeper has played 10 of City’s 12 matches in Europe this season, with Stefan Ortega deputising for the other two matches. It was the German who played on Saturday as City beat United 2-1 at Wembley in the FA Cup final, with Guardiola opting to play his second-choice stopper in the domestic cup competitions this season.

But the City boss isn’t tempted to do the same against Inter on Saturday, and explained last week that his first-choice goalkeeper will start in Istanbul. “Eddie is going to play the final of the Champions League,” Guardiola said ahead of the FA Cup final.

Ederson has played 47 times this season and has kept 18 clean sheets, and like the rest of the City squad, is aiming to win the Champions League for the first time. The Brazilian played in the 2021 final in Porto as City lost 1-0 to Chelsea, and he said the squad have learnt a lot from that bruising encounter.

“Of course, you don’t always win in football, there are also defeats,” Ederson said in the build-up to the final. “I think that all the players who have been here over the last five or six years have learnt a lot in defeat; they hurt but they make us grow. So not just me, but every player has a great desire to prepare well for this final and give their all to win this title.”

City’s no.31 also revealed he has prepared for penalties if the final goes beyond 120 minutes. “We will work on every requirement: whether that is finishing, crosses, penalties,” he explained. “In this game we need to be prepared for any circumstance over 90 minutes, and 120 or penalties if necessary. We need to be ready for any situation so that nothing surprises us.”