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:
Pep Guardiola ended 12 years of hurt thanks to masterful midfield reinvention
“Relax,” yelled the least relaxed man in the Ataturk Stadium. Pep Guardiola has never been a byword for calm; not with his extraordinary array of melodramatic touchline gestures, some of them seemingly incomprehensible, writes Richard Jolly from Ataturk Stadium.
But then this has been a 12-year psychodrama, a study in how not to win a third Champions League under the auspices of a tortured genius.
There are times when it has seemed to take Guardiola to the bounds of sanity, his infamous overthinking producing some extraordinary decisions and some strange setbacks. It did take him to the edge of Europe.
But, a few miles from Asia, Guardiola’s journey ended. A 1-0 win over Inter Milan has taken him back to the top.
After 2009 and 2011 came 2023: his third European Cup, his first without Lionel Messi, his first with Manchester City.
Guardiola ended 12 years of hurt thanks to masterful reinvention
Three trophies for the season and now three European Cups for Guardiola - a dozen years after his second
Pep Guardiola delivers message to Uefa and Fifa after Champions League win
Man City boss Pep Guardiola has delivered a message to Fifa and Uefa about the length of the season in the aftermath of Man City’s Champions League win.
Guardiola told BT Sport: “[I’m] tired. Calm. Satisfied. It’s so difficult to win it.
“They are really good. Be patient, I said at half-time. You have to be lucky. Ederson or they miss it, they could draw. This competition is a coin. It was written in the stars. It belongs to us.
“We weren’t at our best level. After the World Cup the team made a step forward and we were there. It wasn’t our best performance.
“I don’t have any energy to think about next season, it’s impossible. We need a break, it’s too long. Our players have international games now. Uefa and Fifa, think about it. The Premier League finished two or three weeks ago, now people have to come back. It’s too much. We will start from zero next season.
“We’re going to celebrate in the hotel with family and friends. Monday the parade is in Manchester. With this competition, the treble is so difficult.”
Kyle Walker discusses what he said in the changing room
Kyle Walker had to deal with being dropped for the final, as Pep Guardiola only had him on the bench. But as a member of the leadership group, he still delivered a message to his teammates.
Walker said to BT Sport: “I’m over the moon. I’m rarely speechless. My dream has come true, to achieve this with this club. To achieve a Treble is unbelievable.
“I’m always going to be disappointed when I’m not playing but I’m 33. My example sets to the younger lads. I made a speech before they went out. This club means so much to me. To experience what I’ve experienced, I’m forever in debt.
“I said ‘my dream is in your hands’. No pressure. You can’t say Inter deserved it more than we did or we deserved it more than they did. We’re both here by merit. There has to be a loser.
“Emotions played a part. The occasion is obviously going to get to you. I got a silver one last time so to get a gold one is fantastic.
“I’m living the dream. My mum and dad are in the stands. From where I come from in Sheffield it’s not easy. I remember when my mum didn’t have a pound for the ice cream van. To have this with them, I’m so thankful.”
Kevin De Bruyne discusses disappointment of injury
Talk about mixed emotions for Kevin de Bruyne. He finally achieved his goal of winning the Champions League but for the second time in the European final, he was forced off injured early on.
De Bruyne told BT Sport: "It's been a hard two months for me, with my hamstring, it snapped, it's a shame, I felt good in the first half an hour, the team was good enough and we won.
"It's amazing, we've been working so long for this, for the club and everything we did as a team, we've not lost in the Champions League this year. It wasn't the best game, but it's time to celebrate."
‘It’s a pleasure to be a part of this team’, says John Stones
John Stones was pivotal to Man City’s victory this season and he’s been a key cog over the past few months as he becomes more of a midfielder under Guardiola.
He spoke about the emotions of the victory to BT Sport.
Stones said: "It was the thing we were missing, it's a pleasure to be part of this team. Only the second time to do it, the treble, I'm so pleased.
“I'm holding words back because I'm on camera, put it that way. We set the bar high now. After this season, from where we were in the Premier League, to bring it back, win the FA Cup, and then here, on a difficult night, I can't put it into words.
"I played more as a No 8 today, I loved it, I'm still learning, I'm not the best in there, but I gave it my everything, got on the ball and tried to make things happen.
"I think I've got doping, so it's a great start to my night!"
Ilkay Gundogan reacts to winning the Champions League
Captain Fantastic Ilkay Gundogan chats to BT Sport after skippering Man City to their first-ever Champions League title. He’s been brilliant over the past few weeks
"Today we made history," Gundogan said. "It was clear it was going to be difficult, we weren't at our best. We had a couple of good chances. We had to do better after the second one, it was a 50-50 game. One goal made a difference. We feel very fortunate it was for us.”
Manchester City lift the Champions League trophy
Here’s the moment that Man City achieved their long-held dream and finally lifted the Champions League trophy. What a moment this was - the players and manager were drinking this in.
Man City win the Champions League
The players are walking up for the trophy presentation now. Most players touch or kiss the trophy on the way past having received their medals. They’ve waited a long time for this moment.
REPORT: Man City secure landmark Champions League victory that stretches beyond historic treble
It didn’t quite happen in the way expected, but Manchester City of course made it inevitable. The English champions have finally become the European champions to complete a treble and also bring a long-term Abu Dhabi project to its culmination. At least of this stage of it. After a 1-0 win over Internazionale that will offer a release as much as relief, it’s hard not to think they could go on and win it again and again, confirming Pep Guardiola as the greatest coach of all time.
The Catalan already has a strong claim to that, after at last winning his third Champions League, a full 12 years after his second.
There was no overthinking this time, even if a defiant and proud Internazionale did make City worry for long periods of the game.
That also ensured City had to fight, in a way they haven’t been used to over three months when they have looked the closest team to football perfection the game has ever seen. This wasn’t that. The manner of victory was instead fitting in its own way as a passing midfielder in Rodri scored the goal that City will now replay and rejoice in as much as Sergio Aguero’s in 2012.
Red Miguel Delaney’s full report from the Ataturk Stadium:
Man City’s landmark Champions League victory stretches beyond historic treble
Man City 1-0 Inter Milan: Rodri’s strike and a late Ederson save were enough for Pep Guardiola’s side to create history in Istanbul
Man City vs Inter Milan player ratings: Ederson and Rodri earn Champions League glory
Manchester City are European champions at last, having beaten Inter Milan 1-0 at the Ataturk Stadium to lift the Champions League trophy.
As was expected to be the case, the Premier League team dominated play and created more chances, but their Serie A opponents fought relentlessly and kept them at bay for long stretches - only for Rodri to fire home the winner midway through the second half.
Here are the player ratings from the Ataturk Stadium.
Player ratings as Ederson and Rodri earn Champions League glory
Man City 1-0 Inter: Rodri found the way through while his ‘keeper made two stunning late saves
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