Manchester City have won their first-ever Champions League and a treble after a 1-0 win over Inter Milan.
Midfielder Rodri scored from 15 yards out in the 68th minute to secure a victory over the Italian side at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul – capping an unforgettable season for Pep Guardiola’s side.
They outpaced closest rivals Arsenal to comfortably win the Premier League, and last week beat fierce rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
It means City have become the first English Premier League club since United to win a treble of all three major trophies in one season.
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour was also present to watch his team’s victory on Saturday evening.
It was only the second game he has attended since his investment vehicle, the Abu Dhabi United Group, purchased City in 2008.
The club has risen to become the dominant force in the English game under Mansour’s stewardship, having won seven Premier League titles in the past 12 years and five of the last six.
Analysis: Grit produced the glory
This wasn’t Manchester City at their all-conquering best, but it was enough to conquer Europe.
The near-misses, mishaps and misfortune of 11 previous Champions League attempts all providing the grounding to grind out the 1-0 win over Inter Milan.
Grit produced the glory – with a winner from Rodri rather than goal machine completing a treble.
It matches the feat of their great rivals Manchester United in 1999 to confirm their own sporting greatness.
But unlike United’s treble, this is one defined by the billions of Abu Dhabi funding that assembled the squad rather than a core of academy graduates reaching the pinnacle.
And all this City success will be clouded by past UEFA fines – and as long as the Premier League takes to conclude a case into alleged financial wrongdoing to assemble the squad.
A squad whose domination of football was confirmed on a Saturday night in Istanbul.
Black smoke billowed over the stadium in the hours prior to kick-off due to a fire at a nearby factory, but it didn’t affect the game.
After a slow start to the game, City suffered a serious blow 10 minutes before half-time when Kevin De Bruyne was forced off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan lifts the UEFA Champions League Trophy
The Belgian had initially tried to run off the problem but was forced to admit defeat and was replaced by Phil Foden.
Assessing his own contribution in frank terms, Rodri added: “I wasn’t good in the first half – I was playing s***, to be honest and then we talk about mentality, I just said to myself, ‘You have to calm the situation’. At the end, I scored a goal. Unbelievable.”
Manchester City’s treble brought back memories for Mario Balotelli, who accomplished the same feat with Inter Milan in 2010.
He told BT Sport: “When you win the Champions League, when you win it with a club it’s I think the highest emotion you can feel, you can have. In this moment it is even difficult to think, to speak, so I understand it totally.”
