Manchester City wins its first Champions League

Fifteen years after he began his ambitious multi-million dollar project, The Manchester City he finally has the precious ‘Orejona’.

The goal of the Spaniard Rodrigo Hernández, with a ‘pass’ into the net between a mix of Italian players, decided the dull final and brought European glory to his compatriot Pep Guardiolawho can finally boast the third continental title in his record and a historic treble for English football.

The curse ended in this contest for Manchester City, who exploded with joy at Rodri’s strike, with just over half an hour to go, he kissed the net. A delicate delivery, to save the Inter players grouped in front of the goal, but with the power to knock them down once and for all the mental barrier of this team in the most important competition.

The wall against which the City was already breaking from the first minute, with atypical inaccuracy, with nerves in all lines and with Ederson Moraes, who could stand the sheikh and more than grace – present for the second time in fifteen years in the stands – but he ended up as a hero.

In Inter, drawn in, believing that some opponents will already fall, the plan came out on 60 minutes, in which they barely conceded a couple of clear chances, Bernardo Silva’s corner kick going high and Erling Haaland’s mid-range shot deflected by André Onana.

In addition, Hakan Calhanoglu forced an injury to Kevin de Bruyne, who was replaced in the 36th minute, recalling the painful memory of two years ago, when he retired early against Chelsea, also ill.

And if the scheme didn’t work better for Inter, it’s because Lautaro Martínez hadn’t used the clearest of his own until then. At 0-0, the Argentinian took advantage of a misunderstanding between Bernardo and Akanji to cross, with a small angle, in front of Ederson. He crashed into the keeper and City woke up.

Repeating the protagonists of the mistake, Akanji filtered the ball for Bernard’s cut. Ultimately, the Portuguese managed as best he could and fought off the defender. While all the City players were looking for a hand, Rodri looked at the ball, placed the inside of his foot and avoided, almost making a magical zigzag, the bodies of the Inter players. The ball went in and the scene that the Gallagher brothers had dreamed of for decades began. A tide of light blue players on their way to the corner with outstretched arms.

For the first time in history, City dominated the Champions League final. Nerves kicked in again, which is logical, and Inter almost turned them into a draw. In a bizarre play, Federico Dimarco found himself with the ball in the air a meter away from Ederson. He headed the ball and it bounced off the crossbar. He dropped dead again and attempted another header, but his teammate Lukaku got in the way of the ball.

For his part, Pep Guardiola won his third title as a coach in the Champions League, with which he reaches the Englishman Bob Paisley and the Frenchman Zindedine Zidane, and is only one behind the record holder, the Italian Carlo Ancelotti.

Guardiola won the Champions League in front Barcelona in 2009 and 2011. With this victory, he turns the list of winning coaches with two different clubs into a sextet, joining Ancelotti himself (two with Milan and two with Real Madrid), the Austrian Ernst Happel (one with Feyenoord and one with Hamburg), the German Ottmar Hitzfeld (one with Borussia Dortmund and one with Bayern Munich) and Jupp Heynckes (one with Real Madrid and one with Bayern) and the Portuguese Jose Mourinho (one with Porto and one with Inter Milan).

Manchester City and Sevilla, winners of the Champions League and the Europa League, respectively, will play the European Super Cup 2023 on August 16 at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus (Greece).