Rodri returns the debt to Manchester City with the Champions League (1-0)

Manchester City has come full circle in Istanbul. It took him seven years of the project, marked by huge investment and almost obsessive tactical work, but in the end he found the long-awaited fruit in champions, so unattainable until now. So much friction on the Old Continent is gone. Against him Monaco very young mbappehe Liverpool from Klopp or Tottenham from Pochettino. Against Olympique de Lyon in that express tournament in Lisbon due to the covid pandemic, against Chelsea in the 2021 final and in last season’s epic semi-final against Real Madrid.

All these ghosts are forever buried in the city that connects the West and the East, where the paths of City, a representative of the new aristocracy supported by Emirati investments, and Inter, a member of that select club of nobles with a tradition in the European Cup. . It was a great opportunity to record a treble that only Manchester United has achieved in England, the cradle of football. Henceforth their eternal adversary, that club ostracized for so many years by the luxury of the red devil, can now shine before the world as one of the best teams ever seen in the British Isles.

Blood, sweat and tears cost the sky blue team, raised to the heavens by Rodrigo’s nakedness, the man called upon to mark an era from his studies in midfield. And that is that Inter did not leave the meters on the field to the favorite theoretician and equipped themselves in their domains as expected, but were brave and defied the forecasts with Herculean pressure. Great “nerazzurri” intensity from the first minute. A team of simone inzhagi He was aware of the need for considerable physical effort to oppose the talent of the citizen.

Brozović He started because of his qualities as a midfielder, not because of the fact that all the European champions in the last decade had a Croatian player in their eleven. This was shown by the leading recovery of the Italian ball. A great performance by Inter showed City’s nervousness, embodied in doubts Ederson at the beginning of the movement of the ball from the goal.

Very little offensive baggage from the City, only two blocked shots from Haaland, offside, and Bernardo Silva. And that is that the traditional ‘sky blue’ bet for the possession game was conspicuous by its absence, much to the dismay of the hyperactive Guardiola in the band. Not that Inter created excessive danger, apart from Brozović’s long-range shot, but they managed to reduce City’s numerous virtues to a minimum.

It took almost half an hour for the English champion to dissolve in midfield, but the brilliant combination of Rodri, Gündogan and De Bruyne, the three tenors in midfield, gave Haaland the space he needed to create a left-footed shot and test Onana’s reflexes. The match was already on the English field, with Inter a few meters behind what it was at the beginning.

City finally seemed to find the ultimate combination when De Bruyne began to show signs of muscle problems. The Belgian pushed, aware of the dimension of the game, but eventually gave in to the evidence, giving way to Phil Foden on the pitch. A very sensitive loss for Guardiola, who did not finish taking his temperature for his fourth Champions League final. With Stones as a wild card, he changed his tactical plan, although he reached the break again immersed in a sea of ​​doubts as a result of Inter’s great collective work.

Lukaku, cross

Nor did the break give City clarity of ideas to break down Inter’s excellent tactical framework. Minutes passed, doubling the spirit of the Italian team and despairing over the team that reached the final after the exhibition against Madrid, but which began to feel a cold sweat of the fear of missing another excellent opportunity to win the long-awaited Orejon’. In the meantime, the Lombardo team waited for their chance, which could have come in a misunderstanding between Bernardo Silva and Akanji, who was cleared by Ederson against Lautaro.

accumulated wear It reduced the rigidity of the game, which gave way to a circular path. This scenario was less suitable for Inter, and City used the space to overflow on the right flank with Bernardo Silva and mercilessly scored through Rodri, who, after passing behind the Portuguese, cleared the eye and then the bullet into the Italian net.

With just 20 minutes to play, a powerful strike proved difficult to turn over, although Inter responded with pride and managed to find an equalizer with Dimarco’s double header deflecting first off the crossbar and then off the body of his team-mate Lukaku. It was a clear sign that luck was on City’s side this time.

Inzhagi changed his scheme to defense four burn the ships and Guardiola protected himself with Walker instead of multiple Stones, which did not prevent luck from leaving Lukaku again in a header that Ederson cleared. Brave Inter kept trying until the last minute, with another Gosens header at the near post pushed away by Ederson along with City’s ghosts. Seven years later, Guardiola’s work is complete. He collected five Premier League titles and proved he was almost unbeatable on a regular basis until he won his first Champions League with his hand and touched the sky, bluer than ever.

MATCH SHEET

Manchester City: Ederson, Akanji, Rúben Dias, Aké, Stones (Walker, min. 82), Rodri, Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne (Foden, min. 36), Gündogan, Grealish and Haaland.

Inter Milan: Onana, Darmian (D’Ambrosio, min. 84), Acerbi, Bastoni (Gosens, min. 76), Dumfries (Belanova, min. 76), Barella, Brozović, Çalhanoglu (Mkhitaryan, min. 84) Dimarco, Lautaro Martínez and Dzeko (Lukaku, min. 57).

Goal: 1-0: min. 68, Rodri.

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland). He mentioned Barella, Lukaku, Haaland, Onana, Ederson and Inzhagi.

Incidents: The 2022-23 Champions League final will be played at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. 66,000 spectators.