Joleon Lescott: Erling Haaland a generational talent; Edin Dzeko has been underrated

Manchester City head to Istanbul on Saturday in search of the missing piece of the puzzle, the Champions League trophy.

Pep Guardiola's Premier League and FA Cup winners take on Serie A giants Inter at the Ataturk Stadium knowing they are potentially just 90 minutes away from a famous treble which would see them match the accomplishment of city rivals Manchester United from the 1998/99 campaign.

City are billed as heavy favourites to beat Inter, even though the Nerazzurri have kept eight clean sheets en route to the final, and some feel the outcome of the final is a foregone conclusion.

There's also an expectation that Erling Haaland, who has scored 52 goals in 52 games across all competitions for City, will put Inter to the sword, potentially scoring the first goal.

Speaking exclusively to 90min, former City defender Joleon Lescott has suggested that isn't necessarily the case, and he expects the Norwegian to be happy at sharing the spotlight with his teammates rather than pursuing individual glory.

"I see City scoring, which means Inter then have to come out and be more expansive, which hopefully plays into City's hands and gets the job done," Lescott said.

"It's easy to suggest it's Haaland, because he's scored so many goals, but having seen him celebrate the wins more than anything else - he didn't score in the FA Cup final or against Real Madrid - he seemed equally as excitable as when he does score," Lescott continued.

"I think there are players who will want to go out there and be the main man, but I think this group of players are happy with the outcome being a win, rather than individual honours."

Lescott has never hidden his appreciation of Haaland. Indeed, the England Under-21 coach has previously admitted he sees a touch of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who recently pulled the curtain down on his career, in the younger Scandinavian star.

But aside from a towering, physics-defying style of play, Haaland brings an old-school approach to goalscoring which Lescott admits reminds him of his playing days.

"I think the generation I played in, against the likes of [Didier] Drogba, [Ruud] van Nistelrooy, [Emmanuel] Adebayor, I think there's attributes that were probably more familiar because there was more of that type of striker," he explained.

"I think he's definitely a unique talent, generational talent. There's types of goals that not many forwards could score, and that's kind of why I've compared him to Zlatan. There's a couple in his catalogue that only he reaches, he attempts, he executes. That would be the closest comparison."

READ MORE BUILD-UP TO MAN CITY VS INTER IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

Lescott may have spent plenty of time watching Haaland in action, but it's a striker on the other side of this clash who he knows best.

37-year-old Inter hitman Edin Dzeko joined City in 2011, 18 months after Lescott's own move to the club, and the two struck up a strong bond. They exchanged jokes on Twitter and Lescott even came out in defence of the Bosnian striker following criticism from some City fans who did not believe Dzeko was good enough for a spot at the Etihad Stadium.

"He's always been successful, he's always scored goals," Lescott said of his former teammate. "He's always been effective even if he hasn't scored.

"What he's done, and is doing, doesn't surprise me. I know Edin, I know how well he looks after his body, how serious he takes his profession. It's a little bit surprising due to his age, I must admit that. He's 37, there isn't many 37-year-olds who have played in the Champions League final. As long as he plays, he will be effective, because he's a top performer.

"I was with him earlier in the week and, as much as I've had to potentially defend him in the past, since he's left, City fans have recognised what he's done. I think there are a lot more City fans now who are appreciative of what he contributed to the club when he was there."

Whether it's Dzeko or Haaland who ends up lifting the trophy is all that is left to be decided. Both City and Inter have a shot at immortality here, with the Premier League champions on the brink of a famous story.

Winning the treble would force this City side into the conversation for one of the best club teams in history, but for Lescott, he insists Guardiola's side deserve that sort of respect already.

"When it's all said and done, if they don't win it, there'll be a general conversation about how dominant this team was and how successful it was," he said. "It obviously helps if you do do a treble, but I don't think anyone's going to ask any questions about this team and Pep's dominance if it doesn't happen.

"It's no-one's divine right to win this competition, but they've been as consistent as any team in Europe over the last five or six years."

BT Sport is the exclusive home of the UEFA Champions League Final. Watch Manchester City v Inter Milan exclusively live on BT Sport 1 on Saturday 10th June from 6pm. The final is also available for anyone to watch at www.btsport.com/final, on the BT Sport YouTube channel, and via the BT Sport App