The city of Manchester is painted blue in jubilation after Manchester City secured a historic Champions League win in Istanbul on Saturday night.
Rodri’s goal in the 68th minute gave Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City the needed win against Inter Milan and made them the second English club to win the treble.
Ederson’s heroic last-second stop of Romelu Lukaku also contributed to City’s historic victory in Istanbul.
The Cityzens emulated Manchester United’s triple trophy haul in 1999 after winning the Premier League and FA Cup.
Guardiola’s all-powerful team struggled against Inter, who were incredibly well-organized, and had to deal with the first-half injury to Kevin de Bruyne.
Inter Milan was never a walkover as they showed why they deserve a place in the final. Ederson made a stunning late save to deny Romelu Lukaku from leveling the game.
The win against the Italian giant solidified Guardiola’s place among the all-time great managers as he added a third Champions League to the two he already had at Barcelona, the most recent of which was in 2011.
The celebrations after the game were a fitting end to a fantastic campaign as City got set to parade the Champions League trophy, the Premier League trophy, and the FA Cup around Manchester on Monday.
“I was awful but I don’t care,” Jack Grealish told BT Sport. “To win the treble with this group of players is so special. This is what you work your whole life for. I am so happy.”
Rodri, the scorer of the game’s only goal, could not hide his joy as he noted that: “I said to myself I had to overcome the situation, the mentality. I scored a goal, unbelievable,” said the Spain international. “Finals are like this. You cannot expect to play how we normally play. But the lads competed to the end. We competed like animals.”
In his part, victorious Guardiola said: “The first half we were so anxious,” he told BT Sport
“We could not find the free man, John Stones. But it was a question of being patient. I said at half-time, last time, in Porto [in the 2021 Champions League final], we were 1-0 down, now it is 0-0. We adjusted some things but you have to be lucky in this competition.
“At the end, Ederson, they mis-hit it, they could draw, and then maybe Phil [Foden] could score the second one. This competition is a coin [toss]. But we were there. I think it was written in the stars this season that it belonged to us and we did it.”