Thanks to a goal from Rodri, the English club won their first Champions League on Saturday, against Inter Milan, and achieved a historic hat-trick at the end of this season.
The second attempt was the right one and history will remember that it was in Istanbul, on Saturday June 10, 2023, that Manchester City won the very first Champions League in its history. Two years after seeing the most prestigious of European cups escape them in Porto, against Chelsea (0-1), the English club won the C1 final against Inter Milan (1-0). A victory gleaned thanks to a goal from Rodri, after a tough fight much more balanced than expected.
Before this meeting, Manchester City appeared to be the huge favorites for this meeting against a surprise guest Inter team at this stage of the competition. However, the Cityzens had to wait a long time for Rodri’s goal after the hour mark to take the lead in this match. Too long even, for a machine accustomed to hitting its opponents quickly and hard, and which saw doubt take hold of it as the minutes passed.
The City machine, which had crushed Real Madrid in the semi-finals, jammed in this match. Firstly because Inter and its coach Simone Inzaghi, despite this outsider status, had carefully prepared this final to understand how to repel the assaults of the Mancunians, which few teams have managed to do this season. The palpable tension, with a tactical duel that took over during the first hour of play, did not help the City players, visibly more inhibited than their opponents.
Ederson scares himself before being decisive
Pep Guardiola, who had been waiting to win his third Champions League in twelve years, was seen at the edge of the field yelling at his players: “Relax !” While Manchester had been dangerous in two situations – a strike from Bernardo Silva out of frame (6th), another from Erling Haaland repelled by André Onana (27th) – bad luck got involved in this final with the exit on injury of Kevin de Bruyne (36th).
Like two years ago in Porto, against Chelsea, the Belgian had to leave his teammates during the match in the C1 final. The exit of the master to play obviously made City supporters tremble, as did this huge disagreement between Manuel Akanji and Ederson which Lautaro Martinez could not benefit from thanks to the stoppage of the Brazilian goalkeeper (58th). Ten minutes later, Rodri finally found the opening on one of the only times Inter left space in their defence.
Over the last twenty minutes, Mancunian fans have not only trembled. They experienced three huge scares on the head of Federico Di Marco who finished on the crossbar of Ederson (71st) before the latter miraculously repelled those of Romelu Lukaku (88th) and, in the very last seconds , by Robin Gosens (90th + 5). Cruel for Inter, who returned to the Champions League final for the first time since 2010.
The second hat-trick in English football history
But this season, the C1 seemed promised to Manchester City, who sees this victory as an apotheosis. Since its takeover in 2008 by Emirati investors, the English club has been aiming for victory in the most prestigious of European competitions. It is now done and City are the 23rd club to win the Champions League, the first unprecedented winner since Chelsea in 2012. The English club did so after an exceptional season in all respects, which seen the Cityzens often reach a stratospheric level of play, at the height of what Guardiola has always imagined.
The Spanish coach can experience this success as a consecration. He becomes, after Sir Alex Ferguson with Manchester United in 1999, the second coach of an English club to achieve a Premier League-FA Cup-Champions League treble. A historic first for City, a third liberator for Guardiola. It was more complicated than expected, but it was written.