Potential clubs don't mean benchmarks for champions because in this case we only talk about probabilities and when you look at big clubs, their probability is much higher so they are expected to continue to win doesn't mean there is a separate benchmark for big clubs to be champions because of course we know all the opportunities and everything is possible.
I don't deny that because it's true that from the several seasons that have always been held, it's the big clubs who take over but on the other hand we also can't rule out the fact that all possibilities in the competition can still happen regardless of whether it's a big or small club.
Basically, several of the strongest opponents are fighting for the cup, this is true, but the example of the last Champions League shows that everyone has a chance. If luck favors you and you get a favorable sortition, you might even make it to the final, as happened to Inter in this final. Did they have a chance to win in the final? Of course they were, they played quite well, but even a successful sortition does not guarantee victory, because despite their luck in the final, they would still have to play with one of the strongest.
Like I said, all clubs have a chance, but what makes the difference is how much chance they have to do that compared to other clubs who are also aiming for the same result. The advantage is that when a solid club is sure they are superior and it is commonplace that a club with certain strengths will be at the forefront when compared to a club that is one step behind the seeded club, such as Manchester City and Inter Milan and Champions League final this season.
When all the teams are fighting each other to fight for the highest trophy of this European caste, sometimes there is indeed a team that unconsciously can go through an isolated round and make it to the final. I used to think that the last final that won was Inter, in my opinion it was not without reason because they were able to gradually beat the top teams to get to the final against Manchester City.
In the match it was enough to prove that Manchester City vs Inter was quite even and there were almost no goals at all for 90 minutes because after all Inter would also work hard to strengthen its defense from the onslaught of Manchester City's attacks. But unfortunately Inter had to come to a halt after Manchester City took advantage of a gap in the crowd for Rodri to score one goal that decided the victory. At least we can see that the two teams were equally strong in the final and luck was not on Inter's side this time.
Maybe you mean that the two clubs played without a goal in the first 45 minutes, because Manchester City's winning goal came in the 68th minute.
It's not wrong to think that Inter Milan might win that match, because they also still have chances even though the chances they have are not as big as those of Manchester City. Even in the final match, they were actually able to play well and even in the final minutes there were several opportunities which, unfortunately, of all the opportunities they had, none of them resulted in a goal.