Manchester City are champions of Europe after Rodri’s fine second-half finish secured a 1-0 win over Internazionale in a tense and close final in Istanbul
There was a moment just before the hour when Guardiola sank to his knees as Lautaro Martínez rushed up the left, only to shoot too close to Ederson. It was a long way from being the kind of crushing City performance that Premier League supporters have grown used to.
Inter could have equalised. They should have equalised. Federico Dimarco looped a header up and against the crossbar and, when he headed again on the rebound, the ball hit his teammate Romelu Lukaku and refused to go in. Lukaku would blow a gilt-edged header from close range in the 89th minute when he simply had to score from close range, Ederson saving with his legs. It was a remarkable intervention. City’s joy knew no bounds.
It was broader than that, of course, many of the travelling supporters remembering the slide into League One in the 1990s, especially the darkly comic relegation from the Premier League in 1996; the diagnosis of City-itis by the former manager Joe Royle. Guardiola, who dropped Kyle Walker, preferring Akanji on the right of his defence, Nathan Aké on the left, wanted to see patience from his players and it was needed. There had been a big early chance for Silva, the City winger running at Dimarco, who seemed more concerned about keeping his hands behind his back. Silva jinked inside and the shot was curled inches past the far top corner.
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