Triple Crown! Manchester City's Champions League final 1-0 Inter, Pep Guardiola has finally proved himself
Rodri scored for Manchester City from distance.
Finally, Pep Guardiola and this Manchester City team have fulfilled their dreams.
In the early morning of the 11th, the Champions League final was staged - in the first half of De Bruyne's injury and the team's tactics were blocked, Manchester City beat Inter Milan 1-0 with a long-range shot from back Rodri, won the first Champions League Big Ear Cup in the team's history, and won the triple crown of Premier League + Champions League + FA Cup this season.
It was Pep Guardiola's first Champions League since leaving Barca and his third Champions League title – and he finally proved that he can do without Messi.
In addition, Manchester City became the eighth team in European football history to win the treble and the 23rd in the history of the Champions League.
Rodri celebrates the goal.
BEFORE THE MATCH, BRITISH BT SPORTS SELECTED THE BEST SQUAD FOR THIS SEASON'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, WITH AS MANY AS SEVEN MEN SELECTED BY MANCHESTNUT CITY AND NO ONE FROM INTER.
Bale predicted a 5-0 win in the final, with United legend Rio Ferdinand pointing out that if City scored the first goal, the game would be over.
Even rivals Inter from manager Inzaghi down to player Onana admitted that Manchester City is now the best team in the world.
Inter President Zhang Kangyang.
However, at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Pep Guardiola's team did not show the "cosmic team", and the match was stalemated under the unity of Inter.
City's starting line-up made an adjustment, with Acker coming on after injury, and Akanji playing right-back for Walker, saying: "Walker can play, but I need a different type of player, that's the only reason. ”
It seems that against the average speed of Inter winger Di Marco, Guardiola wants to get his life done again.
City controlled the ball as always, with 62% possession at half-time, but under Inter's frantic pursuit, City did not find any good opportunities - Haaland burst into the box 25 minutes later and his small-angle volley was blocked by Onana, which was the only threat.
De Bruyne was injured.
What made Manchester City fans even more frustrated was that in the 35th minute, De Bruyne was unable to hold on due to injury and had to leave the game early.
In Manchester City's Champions League final with Chelsea two years ago, Kevin De Bruyne left early due to an injury in a collision with Antonio Rudiger... In the end, Manchester City lost to the Blues.
Guardiola comforts De Bruyne.
Pep Guardiola said before the game: "Inter are masters of defence and we have to be patient. The most important thing is that at 0-0 we will think we are losing and Inter will think they have won. ”
This partly underscores the mentality of Manchester City, which, as favourites, have high expectations for the game and can be frustrated if things go unwell on the pitch.
Milan legend Nesta had a similar assessment, pointing out that Manchester City's home game against Real Madrid "does not look like human football": "If Manchester City play like this, Inter have no chance, but in a final, pressure will bring variables." ”
It's clear that Manchester City are not at their best to deliver the same pace and intensity – in fact, the FA Cup final against Manchester United showed some hints, and the victory was thanks to Gundogan's two-foot masterpiece.
Haaland's powerful shot was saved by Onana.
In the second half, City's loss of De Bruyne did not go well in front, but Inter began to threaten the city gate with sporadic counter-attacks.
In the 58th minute, City's back-of-the-box return pass was a coordination error, and Lautaro snatched the opportunity to shoot, and Inter would have opened the scoring if it had not been for Ederson's rescue.
Manchester City made a mistake at the back and Lautaro came close to scoring.
Thirteen years ago, Inter defeated Pep Guardiola's Barcelona Dream III in the semi-finals and finally won the title, when Mourinho used defense to contain Barca's Messi.
Reflecting on that match, the Portuguese said: "Determination is the key to the team's victory. "Thirteen years later, Inzaghi Jr.'s team inherited the legacy of their predecessors, but this time they lacked a bit of luck.
Witnessing the mistake of the defense, Guardiola knelt.
In the 68th minute, Manchester City created confusion in the Inter penalty area, and then Rodri inserted a long-range shot in the back row of the chaos to score 1-0.
In the 70th minute, Di Marco's header hit the crossbar and the ball bounced back, but Di Marco's header hit teammate Romelu Lukaku again.
Romelu Lukaku's close-range header was then blocked by Ederson in front of the goal line...
Lautaro missed the opportunity.
Manchester City today may be the most struggling Manchester City fans have seen in recent times, but they still have the last laugh, from drawing away at Real Madrid to narrowly beating Manchester United in the FA Cup, and they can also tie the fence when the scene is not good.
It has to be admitted that this Manchester City team has evolved, they have a pressure resistance that they did not have in the past, and they know how to keep opponents from scoring more than how to score.
In addition, Pep Guardiola's transformation and upgrading of the team was also most directly confirmed in this game - putting Stones in the position, Rodri got more opportunities to cut forward, and when he needed to score the most, a defender completed the deadliest blow.
Inter fans should be proud of the team's performances.
Pep Guardiola has won 13 titles since taking charge of Manchester City in 2016, with the only regret being that he failed to win the Champions League, and this time he finally got his wish.
It is worth mentioning that Manchester City owner Chief Mansour also came to Istanbul to witness the glory of the team, and the last time he watched an official match live was 13 years ago.
It's been 13 years at Manchester City and they have it all now.