Manchester City’s long pursuit to win the Champions League finally ended with victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul as Pep Guardiola’s side finished with a bang.
After winning the Premier League and the FA Cup, City emulated Manchester United’s three titles in 1999 and became the second British club to achieve that success after Rodri’s goal in the 68th minute ended the final.
Guardiola’s all-conquering side were not at their best against a well-prepared Inter and had to deal with the loss of Kevin de Bruyne to injury in the first half.
But the large number of City fans inside the Ataturk Stadium did not care as they happily celebrated the most unique night and season in the club’s history.
And for Guardiola, it cemented his status as one of the greatest coaches as he added to his third Champions League title win at Barcelona, the last coming in 2011.
This was not what many predicted and City had to survive a slight scare when Federico Dimarco’s header flew over the bar and Ederson made a stunning save to deny Romelu Lukaku a chance to shine but it was all about the win.Now Guardiola and his players can take their place in history.
The Champions League has brought agony for City and Guardiola – especially when they lost to their Premier League rivals Chelsea in the 2021 final – but all the pain disappeared before midnight on a sweltering night in Istanbul.
City survived the worries of the final minutes, especially when Lukaku, who is a reserve player of Inter, hit Ederson with the head with a clean goal, but there was an explosion of joy in the field and in the Ataturk Stadium when they won the title that has been beyond their control. got it for a long time. Guardiola said, whether it is fair or not, his time at Manchester City will be determined by whether he was able to bring the Champions League to the club.
The Catalan, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, will now be a prominent figure at both City and Barcelona.
It is a simple fact that many outside the Abu Dhabi-owned club will always view their victory through the 115 charges of financial misconduct brought against them by the Premier League, charges they vehemently deny.
For City’s owners, Sheikh Mansour attending only his second game since taking charge in 2008, this was the night they had planned for and they finally took the big win.
This was an evening where only the result was important for City, not how their great victory was achieved.
This was not a victory achieved in the spectacular fashion that is usually their style. The truth is that for a long time it was a sloppy game in front of a well-organized Inter team who were good in this Champions League Final until the final whistle.
None of that will matter now. And that will forever be remembered for this game by City fans when Rodri reached the opposition half-court in a unique position from Manuel Akanji and Bernardo Silva and sent his right foot perfectly to finish a beautiful shot away from the place of the talented Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana he would arrive. And of course winning the Champions League title was considered unique.
City lived more dangerously in the final minutes and when it was all over, Guardiola, being very confused in his area, was calm while looking for the coach of rivals Inter Milan Simone Inzaghi to comfort him.
John Stones was once again excellent for City with goalkeeper Ederson making a vital contribution when needed.
The celebrations at the final whistle signaled a successful season as City finally lifted the Champions League trophy and prepared to walk it through the streets of Manchester along with the Premier League and FA Cup on Monday.
By Hallan Emodia