Manchester City’s 1-0 win against Inter Milan saw Pep Guardiola’s City win a nervy game and complete a historic treble
With a spirited 1-0 victory over Inter Milan, Rodri scored the game-winning goal to help Manchester City clinch the treble and eventually win the Champions League.
In the 68th minute of the grueling final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, the midfielder rifled home as the UEFA Champions League winners and wore down the Italians.
The game was closely contested, and Manchester City took a significant hit in their quest to win the trophy that has eluded them for so long when they lost Kevin De Bruyne to injury in the first half. Rodri ultimately scored with a powerful effort when a Bernardo Silva pass was diverted into his path, but the prolific Erling Haaland was also kept quiet by a resolute Inter side.
It marked the end of a historic season for Cityzens, who also claimed the FA Cup and its fifth consecutive Premier League crown. By winning all three of those trophies in the same season, they have joined rival Manchester United as the only team to do it. It meant success for club owner Sheikh Mansour, who was present in Istanbul for just his second game since acquiring the team in 2008 and elevating them to the highest table of the game.
What the Win Means To manchester City’s Pep Guardiola
Twelve years after his second of two Champions League victories as Barcelona’s manager, manager Pep Guardiola might potentially celebrate Champions League victory once again.
Manager Pep Guardiola has now won 14 major trophies since joining the club in 2016 – a collection comprising five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, one Champions League and two Community Shields – and he becomes the first manager to win two European Trebles (Barcelona 2009 and City 2023).
Captain Ilkay Gundogan, who lifted the trophy in Istanbul, says this victory is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication.
“This is a really proud moment for everyone at this football club,” he said. “We work so hard every single day, and we have wanted to win this trophy for so long.
Although everything didn’t quite go as planned, Manchester City of course made it inevitable. Finally winning the title of European champions, the English champions have completed a treble and brought an ambitious Abu Dhabi project to a successful conclusion. Certainly at this point. It’s difficult not to believe they may win it again and again, establishing Pep Guardiola as the best coach of all time after their 1-0 victory over Internazionale, which will serve as both a release and a source of relief.
After finally winning his third Champions League, a full 12 years after his second, the Catalan already has a solid case for that. He also became the first coach to win two trebles. The fact that it’s at two different clubs makes it even better.
Read: UEFA Champions League Final 2023; Manchester City Faces Inter Millan
UEFA Champions League Final 2023; Manchester City Faces Inter Millan
Even if a proud and rebellious Internazionale did give City pause for significant stretches of the game, there was no overthinking this time.
Additionally, it forced City to compete in a way they hadn’t done in more than three months, during which time they appeared to be the most flawless football club the game has ever seen. That was not this. Rodri, a passing midfielder, scored the goal that City will now replay and celebrate as much as Sergio Aguero’s in 2012. The method of triumph was instead appropriate in its own way.
The Spanish midfielder provided his manager with the image he has long desired because he is a player in Guardiola’s own image, arguably his perfect ideal. Guardiola was raising the prestigious trophy once more; this was his fourth time doing so as a player and manager.