MANCHESTER CITY have WON the Champions League final AND completed a historic Treble.
Rodri’s ferocious second-half strike turned out to be the difference maker.
And it means that they have become the second English club win the Treble since their noisy Manchester neighbours in 1999.
- LIVE RESULT: Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
- FREE Live stream: BT Sport YouTube
- TV channel: BT Sport 1
- Man City XI: Ederson; Akanji, Dias Ake; Stones, Rodri; Gundogan (C), De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish; Haaland
- Inter XI: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic (C), Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Dzeko, Lautaro
- Explainer: What is the Treble in football and which teams have won it?
BETTING SPECIAL – TIPS AND OFFERS FOR MAN CITY vs INTER
Follow all the action from Istanbul with our live blog below…
John Stones’ Messi record
Manchester City star John Stones completed all six of his attempted dribbles against Inter Milan.
The last player to complete more than that in a Champions League final was Lionel Messi in 2015.
That was when Messi registered a total of 10 perfect dribbles against Juventus.
Not bad for a centre-back that was only recently fielded as a midfielder.
Credit: Getty Guardiola’s second Treble
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has won the Treble for the second time in his managerial career.
Guardiola is also the first ever head coach to achieve this feat with two different clubs.
The Spanish tactician first won the Treble with Barcelona in the 2008-2009 season.
But it took a lot more effort to seal it with the Citizens…
Credit: Getty Man City join club
Manchester City have become the sixth English club to win a European title.
City join Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
That is twice as many sides than any other nation around the world.
Germany, Italy and Netherlands currently count three clubs each.
Credit: AFP
Kyle Walker addresses omission
Manchester City star Kyle Walker discussed his omission from Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up.
Walker told BT Sport: “I’m always going to be disappointed when I’m not playing.
“I’m 33 now and my example sets on to the younger lads so I made a speech before they went out.
“I was true to my words and it was emotional but this club means so much to me.
“I’ve been here six years now but to give me what it’s given me and for me to have experienced the experiences that I’ve experienced, I’ll be forever in debt to them.”
Credit: Reuters Kevin De Bruyne speaks
Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne revealed he suffered a hamstring injury before hobbling off the pitch.
De Bruyne told BT Sport: “It has been a hard two months. I had a lot of problems with my hamstring and it snapped.
“The team was good enough though and we won. We have been working so long for this, it is amazing.
“We have not lost in the Champions League this year. It was not the best game but now is the time to celebrate.”
Credit: Getty Pep Guardiola reacts
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists he is not thinking about next season after sealing the Treble.
Guardiola told BT Sport: “[I feel] Tired, calm, satisfied of course. This f*****g trophy, it’s so difficult to win it.
“It’s a question of being patient and you have to be lucky. At the end, Ederson, he could have missed it, they could have been level. This competition is a coin-toss.
“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.”
Credit: Alamy Rodri makes history
Manchester City star Rodri left his mark before scoring the winner in the Champions League Final.
The midfielder made his 52nd start of the season for City across all competitions.
The only outfield player to have started more games in a single campaign under Pep Guardiola was Lionel Messi.
Messi set the record in the 2011-2012 season when he started in 57 matches.
Credit: Getty Ilkay Gundogan speaks
Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan admitted there was pressure before the Champions League Final.
Gundogan told BT Sport: “Today we made history. It was difficult for both teams.
“We weren’t at our best in the first half. We were hesitating. We knew we had to do better in the second. It was probably a 50-50 game. We feel very fortunate it was for us.
“We knew everyone was talking about the Treble. The pressure was there but this team is built to handle the pressure in the best possible way.”
Credit: EPA Jack Grealish reacts
Manchester City star Jack Grealish couldn’t hold back his tears or control his tongue after sealing the Treble.
Grealish told BT Sport: “This is what you work your whole life for. I’m so happy. I was awful but I don’t care… To win the Treble with this group of players is so special.
“To see my family in the crowd makes me emotional. I just said [to Pep Guardiola] I want to thank you. You’ve made this happen for me.
“So much faith in me, buying me for a lot of money, even last year when I was playing **** he stayed with me, spoke to me and this year he’s given me that platform to go and perform.”
Credit: PA
Word from the stadium
Let’s hear from SunSport’s Dave Kidd, who covered the Champions League Final in Istanbul:
After 12 years of heartbreaks and cock-ups and rank bad luck in the Champions League, we should have known it was never going to be smooth.
But following what felt like a collective 90-minute anxiety attack in Istanbul, Manchester City are finally the champions of Europe.
The Blue Moon has risen and Old Big Ears belongs to Pep Guardiola and his Abu Dhabi paymasters.
But the final step on any great quest can often feel like the hardest and as City clinched their Treble, they were almost unrecognisable from the side who have swept aside far mightier teams than Inter Milan in this epic campaign.
The goalscorer Rodri personified City’s lack of self-assuredness. For 68 minutes, this great side’s usually-reliable Spanish anchor man had looked like a gibbering wreck.
But when the ball fell to him 15 yards out, the Spaniard struck his shot sweetly, the onion bag bulged and the agony of being so close to glory finally eased.
Dave Kidd
They did it!
Manchester City are the champions of Europe and the second ever English club to win the Treble!
City dominated across all competitions and won the Premier League, FA Cup and their first ever Champions League.
No Prem club has ever been able to achieve that since Manchester United in 1999.
A legendary and well-deseved moment for the Citizens!
Credit: Reuters Credit: Getty Credit: Getty Ready for lift-off
Manchester City stars are now stepping up to the podium for their gold medals.
City manager Pep Guardiola leads the way and is followed by goalkeeper Ederson, who made a huge save at the end to deny Federico Dimarco.
In just a few minutes, the Citizens will lift their third trophy of the season and their first ever Champions League.
No sign of Salt Bae so far…
Credit: EPA Guard of honour
Manchester City have formed a guard of honour for Inter Milan.
City also applaud the referees with a historic moment that shows manager Pep Guardiola high-fiving first offical Szymon Marciniak.
Inter stars appreciate the Citizens’ nice touch after a stunning performance.
The Treble winners deserve it, but the Nerazzurri took them to the limit and it could have gone either way.
Credit: Getty Rodri speaks out
An emotional Rodri paid tribute to Manchester City fans after his winner in the Champions League Final.
The midfielder told BT Sport: “I’m emotional, this is a dream come true. All these City fans have been waiting 20, 30, 40 years.
“I’ve been here four years. They deserve, we deserve. Last years we were so close.
“When you get to these moments in semi-finals and finals, god gives you this present. It’s unbelievable, a dream for all of us.
“It wasn’t easy. What a team we faced. They way they defended and counter-attacked was unbelievable. They deserve lots of credit because they are a great team.
“But I don’t want to forget about my lads, they have everything. It was an unbelievable effort from everyone.”
Credit: Getty Smiles and cries
Manchester City stars are passionately celebrating their first ever Champions League trophy.
Some of them are even crying tears of joy after a dramatic finale at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
Inter Milan players, on the other hand, are completely heartbroken as they came very close.
But Simone Inzaghi’s men have nothing to be ashamed of as they took the Treble winners to the absolute limit.
Credit: AFP
Man City vs Inter Milan Stats
Manchester City dominated 56 per cent of possession in the Champions League Final.
City registered a total of seven shots, four of which were on target against Inter Milan.
Inter, on the other hand, produced 13 shots, but only five of them were on target.
More below:
FT: Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
Manchester City won their first ever Champions League title and completed a stunning Treble at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
Inter Milan put together a stunning performance that caused City plenty of trouble.
But the Citizens finally broke their hoodoo thanks to Rodri’s winner on 68 minutes.
It all started with a beautiful and clever pass from Manuel Akanji to Bernardo Silva down the right.
Silva delivered a crisp low cross that found Rodri who sent the ball to Andre Onana’s bottom left corner.
Credit: AFP FT: Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
They did it!!!!
Man City have won their first ever Champions League!!!
90+6 Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
Corner-kick for Inter…
What a save by Ederson who denies a back-header by Dimarco!!!
90+4 Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
Yellow card
Man City keeper Ederson is booked for time wasting.
90 Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
Chance!
Inter star Barella tries a beautiful shot from the edge of the box but just misses the crossbar!
90+2 Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
Yellow card
Man City star Haaland and Inter’s Onana get booked for a spat down the Nerazzurri’s area.
90 Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
Five more minutes of stoppage time.
Still time for Inter to equalise!
90 Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
Chance
Inter star Lukaku gets into City’s area and tries a shot that completely misses the target.
89 Man City 1-0 Inter Milan
What a chance!
How did Inter miss this?!
A completely unmarked Lukaku gets a header right in front of Ederson and the Man City keeper just manages to block it with his knee!
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
