Man City vs Inter Milan LIVE: Champions League final result and reaction after City seal historic treble
Man City 1-0 Inter Milan: Rodri’s second-half strike saw Pep Guardiola’s City win a nervy game and complete a historic treble
Rodri fired the winning goal as Manchester City finally claimed Champions League glory and completed the treble with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Inter Milan.
The midfielder rifled home in the 68th minute as the Premier League winners City wore down the Italians in a draining final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
The contest was a tight one, with City suffering a serious blow in pursuit of the prize that has eluded them for so long when they lost Kevin De Bruyne to injury in the first half. The prolific Erling Haaland was also kept quiet by a stubborn Inter side but Rodri eventually made the breakthrough with a firm strike after a Bernardo Silva pass was deflected into his path.
It capped a momentous season for City having also won the FA Cup as well as a fifth Premier League title in six years. Their success means they also join rivals Manchester United as the only side to have won all three of those trophies in the same season. It meant mission accomplished for owner Sheikh Mansour, who was present in Istanbul at only his second match since purchasing the club in 2008 and subsequently propelling them to the game’s top table. Manager Pep Guardiola could also celebrate Champions League success again 12 years after the second of his two wins as Barcelona boss.
Relive the Champions League final below:
Erling Haaland interview: ‘I could have scored more with Man City. That’s the truth’
Erling Haaland can bring a certain directness, on and off the pitch. He can scythe a way through defences and, after his most devastating display, cut through the official rhetoric from Manchester City with similar speed. He had just struck five times against RB Leipzig, becoming only the third player to score five goals in a Champions League game, when he came out and said City bought him to win the competition.
It wasn’t the party line, or something Pep Guardiola had ever admitted.
“You say it yourself and it’s true: they won the Premier League without me, they won every trophy without me,” Haaland rationalised. “So I’m here to try to do a thing that the club has never done before and I’ll do my best.” He nevertheless drew a direct link between his own presence and City’s fate in Europe.
More here from the striker:
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