Saturday 24 / May / 2025
Muscat: English Premier League champions Manchester City finally did it. Pep Guardiola’s team secured their first Champions League title and a historic treble with a hard fought 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday night in a thrilling final.
Rodri’s second-half strike meant City became just the second English side to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Europe’s top competition in the same season following arch-rivals Manchester United in 1999.
Speaking to BT Sport after the historic feat, City boss Guardiola said: "Tired. Calm. Satisfied. It's so difficult to win it.
"They are really good. Be patient, I said at half-time. You have to be lucky. Ederson or they miss it, they could draw. This competition is a coin.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.
"We're going to celebrate in the hotel with family and friends. Monday the parade is in Manchester. With this competition, the treble is so difficult."
City are the eighth team to win the treble of league, domestic cup and European Cup. The others are Celtic (1967), Ajax (1972), PSV (1988), Manchester United (1999), Barcelona (2009, 2015), Inter (2010), Bayern (2013, 2020).
City entered the final in Istanbul as hot favourites but were frustrated for long spells against their dogged Italian opponents and had to rely on some late heroics from goalkeeper Ederson at the death.
They started the night brightly enough and went close twice early on, with Erling Haaland firing over from close range and Bernardo Silva hitting the upright with a curled shot from a tight angle.
But after that their usually silky football was stifled by a well-organised Inter side who pressed high and energetically.
With humidity and the Ataturk Stadium’s wide pitch sapping the pace out of the game, City grew frustrated, and their night took a turn for the worse when Kevin De Bruyne was forced off with a hamstring strain.
It was the second time a Champions League final had ended prematurely for De Bruyne after he suffered nose and facial injuries in a collision with Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger in 2021. Chelsea went on to win the title.
With Rodri and captain Ilkay Gundogan struggling to dictate in midfield, Guardiola had some thinking to do as the first half fizzled out at 0-0.
But the first change after the break came from opposite number Simone Inzaghi, who brought Romelu Lukaku on to replace former City striker Edin Dzeko.
City then almost gifted Inter the lead and had Ederson to thank after he saved from Lautaro Martinez who had pounced on a backwards pass that Manuel Akanji sloppily let slide.
Guardiola’s patience in his team was eventually rewarded as Silva was put through by Akanji and cut back for Rodri via a deflection. The midfielder powered a precise side-footed shot into the corner from 15 yards out to send City’s fans delirious.
Their work did not stop there however, with Martinez hitting the cross-bar moments later and Lukaku stinging Ederson’s palms.
With Inter chasing, the game became more open and De Bruyne’s replacement Phil Foden had a glorious chance to double City’s lead but shot straight at Andre Onana.
City would have regretted that miss were it not for the razor-sharp reactions of Ederson, who somehow managed to keep out a Lukaku header from point-blank range in the dying minutes before tipping over a header from Robin Gosens with the last touch of the game.
