Man City vs Inter Milan LIVE: Champions League final result and reaction after City seal historic treble
Man City 1-0 Inter Milan: Rodri’s second-half strike saw Pep Guardiola’s City win a nervy game and complete a historic treble
Rodri fired the winning goal as Manchester City finally claimed Champions League glory and completed the treble with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Inter Milan.
The midfielder rifled home in the 68th minute as the Premier League winners City wore down the Italians in a draining final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
The contest was a tight one, with City suffering a serious blow in pursuit of the prize that has eluded them for so long when they lost Kevin De Bruyne to injury in the first half. The prolific Erling Haaland was also kept quiet by a stubborn Inter side but Rodri eventually made the breakthrough with a firm strike after a Bernardo Silva pass was deflected into his path.
It capped a momentous season for City having also won the FA Cup as well as a fifth Premier League title in six years. Their success means they also join rivals Manchester United as the only side to have won all three of those trophies in the same season. It meant mission accomplished for owner Sheikh Mansour, who was present in Istanbul at only his second match since purchasing the club in 2008 and subsequently propelling them to the game’s top table. Manager Pep Guardiola could also celebrate Champions League success again 12 years after the second of his two wins as Barcelona boss.
Relive the Champions League final below:
The trick that made Erling Haaland the ultimate finisher – in more ways than one
A few months after Manchester City’s last Champions League final, when it became clear there would be no deal for Harry Kane – and, crucially, that no other Premier League club was in for him – one senior executive closed a meeting and the matter with two words.
The club decided there and then they were going all in on the Norwegian. Now, mere hours before their next Champions League final, so much comes down to Haaland. He is certainly the player that Simone Inzaghi has been most obsessed with figuring out how to stop.
The 22-year-old is the finisher: his instinct and technique has brought 52 goals in his debut City season. He also represents the final piece of the puzzle in a brilliant team that now stands on the brink of total domination and the culmination of this entire Abu Dhabi project.
The scale of City’s last three months – where the team have simply brutalised their closest rivals as well as any sense of sporting competition – would have been impossible to imagine for most of football history. There’s been no messing about in this run-in, either in terms of Pep Guardiola’s tactics or – consequently – the games. Everything comes from fitting in Haaland. Guardiola knows the No 9 has to go into the team in a specific way, so figures out the team from that.
Read Miguel Delaney’s full insight into how Haaland came to be Haaland:
The trick that made Erling Haaland the ultimate finisher – in more ways than one
The Norwegian has provided the perfect solution to Man City’s ‘problem’ on and off the pitch
Champions League final team news
So, we now know both line-ups and can focus on the key battles. City’s back four of Akanji, Stones, Dias and Ake will need to deal with the threat posed by Dzeko and Martinez. Lukaku is an option to come off the bench as well of course.
Brozovic and Çalhanoglu will also look to dictate play in the middle for Inter but a three-man axis of Rodri, Gundogan and De Bruyne surely make City stronger in that area.
Man City XI: Ederson, Akanji, Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodri, Gundogan (c), De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish, Haaland
Inter XI: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Çalhanoglu, Dimarco; Dzeko, Martínez
Inter Milan line-up
Inter have also announced their starting XI, with Edin Dezko and Lautaro Martinez leading the line. That means Romelu Lukaku is only given a place on the bench.
Inter XI: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic (c), Çalhanoglu, Dimarco; Dzeko, Martínez
Man City enjoying Champions League final experience
The City fans have been revelling in the occasion in Istanbul today
Manchester City line-up
City have announced their starting XI for tonight. It’s pretty much as expected, with Kyle Walker only deemed fit enough for the bench as Manuel Akanji starts at right-back.
Pep appears to have avoided the temptation to overthink it
Man City XI: Ederson, Akanji, Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodri, Gundogan (c), De Bruyne, Bernardo, Grealish, Haaland
Champions League final referee: Who is Man City vs Inter official Szymon Marciniak?
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak is in charge of the 2023 Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul.
Marciniak was given the honour of refereeing the World Cup final in December, which passed largely without controversy. He was the first-ever Pole to referee a World Cup final and his assistants that day in Qatar, compatriots Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz, are on hand again tonight to run the line.
However, Marciniak has not been without controversy off the pitch. He managed to keep his role in charge of the final after apologising for appearing at a far-right event in Poland last month, having spoken at an event organised by far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen.
He said in a statement: “I want to express my deepest apologies for my involvement and any distress or harm it may have caused.
“Upon reflection and further investigation, it has become evident that I was gravely misled and completely unaware of the true nature and affiliations of the event in question. I had no knowledge that it was associated [with] a Polish extreme-right movement. Had I been aware of this fact, I would have categorically declined the invitation.”
Who is the referee in charge of the Champions League final?
Who is the official in the middle for the final in Istanbul?
The fresh perspective driving Kevin De Bruyne to Champions League glory
For a footballer who has been voted the best player in the Bundesliga in one season and the Premier League in two more, Kevin De Bruyne could be forgiven for feeling a bit undervalued and underappreciated, writes Richard Jolly. Not by his peers, however, but by his family. It transpires he is not even the most popular player in the De Bruyne household.
His seven-year-old son, Mason, had a kickabout on the Etihad Stadium pitch with his favourite footballer as Manchester City celebrated their Premier League title win. It wasn’t his father. He prefers the man with 52 goals, Erling Haaland, to the one with 28 assists, his dad. “It is not a problem,” said De Bruyne. “All three children have long hair. Erling is a superstar. I see that with the kids at [their] school too. They all have hair like that. It’s funny. My children have all become interested in football this year. They attend more games. They are also starting to play football themselves. My eldest in particular is starting to realise a little more what is going on. He wants to come to games more. He came to see Bayern. He begins to experience and enjoy it more. As long as they like it, it’s okay.”
All of which was a characteristically unflustered response. De Bruyne’s first Champions League final ended abruptly when he was clattered by Antonio Rudiger, leaving him with a broken nose and fractured eye socket. Another might have talked of revenge or lucklessness. Not De Bruyne. “I don’t look at what happened two years ago with bad feelings. You go on, you move on,” he said.
It is why he has been City’s down-to-earth superstar.
The fresh perspective driving Kevin De Bruyne to Champions League glory
The Belgian is content and motivated despite the brutal end to his Champions League final two years ago
Why do Man City fans boo the Champions League anthem?
Manchester City do not have a long and distinguished European history, but Pep Guardiola and his team are hoping to write the first major chapter of that on Saturday evening in Turkey.
The Etihad club head to the Ataturk Stadium to play Inter Milan in the Uefa Champions League final, their second-ever appearance in such a game and aiming for their first-ever victory, having lost two years ago to Chelsea.
Come the end of the evening, supporters will be hoping to begin a massive celebration, not just of lifting this trophy but of completing a treble - with the Premier League and FA Cup already in their locker this term.
But before any thoughts of celebrating, the match has to be won and Inter overcome - and before that can happen, it’s likely that City fans will send an altogether different tone and atmosphere into the night, when the Champions League anthem sounds out ahead of kick-off.
Why do Man City fans boo the Champions League anthem?
Man City face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday night
Manchester City fans sing on streets of Istanbul ahead of Champions League final
Manchester City fans were jubilant on the streets of Istanbul on Friday night ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final against Inter Milan.
Pep Guardiola’s side are favourites for the game that could see them crowned European champions for the first time and complete the treble.
“It’s absolutely a dream, yes. To achieve things you always have to have the correct proportion of obsession and desire,” Guardiola, who won the competition twice managing Barcelona, told reporters ahead of the final.
Fire in a building near the stadium
It looks like a building near the Ataturk Stadium where tonight’s final will be hosted is on fire. Fire engines are streaming towards the building to put it out
The smoke is visible from the stadium, as per our Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney, in Istanbul.
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