For the first time ever, Manchester City have won the the Champions League! They did this by beating Inter Milan 1-0 in the final that was held at the Antaturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey.
Both teams entered this match knowing what is at stake and each team’s cautious approach to this match showed the amount of respect they had for each other.
Manchester had the first half-chance of the match through their season’s top scorer Erling Haaland, bit the Norwegian sent his shot way over the bar in the third minute.
The former Dortmund forward who bosses 12 UCL goals this campaign was kept quiet most of the match and his best chance came in the 26th minute. However, his shot went straight to Inter Milan’s goalkeeper André Onana who punched it away.
In the 35th minute, Man City were forced to make an early change when midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne was subbed off due to injury.
Phil Foden replaced him and it was an opening for Inter who enjoyed some possession. But they were unable to threaten City’s defense forcing the match to go into the break goalless.
Both teams were more determined to put the ball at the back of the net in the second half and Manchester City finally got the better of Inter’s defence when Rodrigo Hernandez neatly placed the ball in the bottom corner in the 68th minute.
After going a goal down, the Italian club wanted to react quickly and find the equalizer but Federico Dimarco’s header hit the post in 70th minute and his rebound header ricocheted off Romelu Lukaku before it was cleared away.
In the 77th minute, Foden produced rounded off a couple of Inter Milan’s defenders, but Onana was equal to his shot.
Inter Milan’s best chance came in the 89th minute when Lukaku got a free header in the six-yard box but Ederson Santana, the City custodian pulled off a great save to keep his side in the lead. And that’s how it stayed after the five minutes of added time.
This victory means Man City finally land their hands on the Champions League trophy. It is the first one for Pep Guardiola since his time at Barcelona over a decade ago where he won two. And yes, City complete the treble.
They become the second team in England to do so after their City rivals Manchester United who achieved the feat in 1999.
The noisy neighbors have backed!
