City lost Kevin De Bruyne to injury before half-time moments after the Belgian had created the first half’s best opportunity for Erling Haaland only for the Norwegian’s effort to be saved by André Onana.
The first opening after the break came for Lautaro Martínez, who had a tight angle closed down by Ederson, and City eventually found the opener with just over 20 minutes remaining.
It felt as though the game was edging towards extra-time but Rodri struck superbly from just inside the area to send the Citizens on their way to a first ever Champions League title and an historic treble.
Federico Di Marco hit the bar with a header for Inter in response moments later, and had his rebound blocked by team-mate Romelu Lukaku, before Foden was denied by André Onana as he had a chance to double City’s advantage.
Lukaku had a huge chance to level the scored in the 89th minute but his header from point blank range was somehow saved by Ederson as it struck the Brazilian’s standing leg.
Five additional minutes passed with Ederson saving a late header from a corner to see City seal a famous win and the treble, becoming just the second English club to win the league title, Champions League and FA Cup in a single campaign.
This follows city rivals Manchester United who achieved the same feat back in 1999, with City steaming towards the achievement after beating United in the FA Cup final last weekend.
Pep Guardiola also becomes the first manager in history to win the treble with two different clubs as he ends a 12-year wait to win the trophy he last lifted as Barcelona boss back in 2011.
It’s been a stunning performance from Pep Guardiola’s side in Europe this season, with City remaining unbeaten on their route to glory in the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
The English champions finished top of their group containing Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and FC Copenhagen before blitzing RB Leipzig 7-0 in the second leg of their last-16 tie, a game in which Erling Haaland became just the third player in the competition’s history to score five goals in one single game.
Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich were up next in the quarter-finals with a stunning 3-0 first-leg win setting them up for a road to redemption with Real Madrid in the semi-finals, the team that ended their journey last season.
Kevin De Bruyne cancelled out Vinícius Junior’s opener to leave them tied in Madrid before City put in one of their best ever performances under Guardiola to blow Real away 4-0 in the return leg in Manchester.
All roads led to Turkey and City stepped up to the task, creating history with another huge win.
Manchester City player ratings (3-2-4-1)
GK: Ederson – 8/10 – Kicking was so far below his usual standard, but at least he came up with some important saves down the final stretch.
CB: Manuel Akanji – 5/10 – His ingenuity indirectly led to Rodri’s goal but he made a strange series of decisions at the back which seriously threatened to harm Man City.
CB: Ruben Dias – 9/10 – Imperious. Won most of his duels and was for long stretches the only calm head at the back for his side. Didn’t put a single foot wrong at a time where he could have ill afforded to.
CB: Nathan Ake – 6/10 – Brought back into the starting lineup in place of Walker. Understandably looked a little rusty but he was at least a positive for Man City.
DM: John Stones – 8/10 – Sometimes guilty of leaving gaping holes in midfield but this was largely due to his free role, which he otherwise played to a high standard in a final yet again.
DM: Rodri – 8/10 – Weirdly turned the ball over at an alarming rate and was hounded into various errors, but ultimately scored the goal which won Man City the Champions League and that’s what mattered.
RM: Bernardo Silva – 6/10 – Showed glimpses of technical brilliance, particularly early in the game and in the lead up to Rodri’s goal, but his moments were few and far between.
AM: Kevin De Bruyne – 6/10 – Carved out a couple of decent openings before succumbing to a hamstring injury.
AM: Ilkay Gundogan – 5/10 – Far quieter than in last week’s FA Cup final, which could have been a problem particularly after De Bruyne had to be withdrawn. It didn’t cost Man City in the end, however.
LM: Jack Grealish – 5/10 – Excellent at foul-baiting but little else. Found it difficult to break down Inter when they were set defensively.
CF: Erling Haaland – 5/10 – Nullified by a combination of Darmian, Acerbi and Bastoni bar his early exploits.
Substitutes
Phil Foden (35′ for De Bruyne) – 6/10 – Couldn’t get much of a foothold in the game until Man City went ahead and it naturally opened up for him to slickly operate.
Kyle Walker (82′ for Stones) – 6/10
Subs not used: Ortega, Carson, Laporte, Gomez, Lewis, Phillips, Perrone, Palmer, Alvarez, Mahrez
Manager
Pep Guardiola – 7/10 – Tried to calm his clearly anxious charges down. They managed to hold their nerve.
Inter player ratings (3-5-2)
GK: Andre Onana – 6/10 – Like Ederson was uncharacteristically a liability with the ball at his feet, but did keep Inter in the tie with his shot-stopping.
CB: Matteo Darmian – 7/10 – Caught ball-watching for the goal a little, though was otherwise impressive in silencing Haaland.
CB: Francesco Acerbi – 8/10 – Often the leader of Inter’s operation to take Haaland out of the game. Unfortunate to be on the losing side.
CB: Alessandro Bastoni – 8/10 – Similarly excellent in stifling Man City, while was often the man to try and bring the ball out from the back.
RM: Denzel Dumfries – 5/10 – Somehow, someway, the ball always seemed to be at Dumfries’ hesitant feet when Inter mounted their most dangerous attacks, which often came to nothing for this reason.
CM: Nicolo Barella – 6/10 – Refused to shy away from possession or shirk his off-ball duties, though lacked the cutting edge of an accurate final ball.
CM: Marcelo Brozovic – 7/10 – Swept up so cleanly in midfield and was a catalyst for Inter’s last push for an equaliser.
CM: Hakan Calhanoglu – 5/10 – Sank in the depths of the midfield battle and was only noticeable when threatening to unleash a trademark thunderbolt from distance.
LM: Federico Dimarco – 6/10 – Galloped up and down the left flank causing Man City problems. May have nightmares about his missed header.
CF: Lautaro Martinez – 6/10 – Led the press and needed more support in this regard. Hard to put the blame at his door for not capitalising on Akanji’s error but it’s a moment he might not ever forget.
CF: Edin Dzeko – 5/10 – The former Man City star looked leggy from the off, clumsily stumbling over the ball with only two minutes gone. Failed to make a positive impact from there on in, with Inter hampered by his inability to press.
Substitutes
Romelu Lukaku (56′ for Dzeko) – 5/10 – Provided the perfect spark of energy that Dzeko didn’t bring, but was painfully wasteful in front of goal.
Robin Gosens (76′ for Bastoni) – 6/10
Raoul Bellanova (76′ for Dumfries) – 6/10
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (84′ for Calhanoglu) – 5/10
Danilo D’Ambrosio (84′ for Darmian) – 5/10
Subs not used: Handanovic, Cordaz, De Vrij, Skriniar, Gagliardini, Asllani, Correa
Manager
Simone Inzaghi – 6/10 – Inter can be proud of their efforts, pushing Man City to the very brink. If they had one other forward in their prime on the pitch, they might have done enough to win.
Leave a comment