Manchester City beat Inter Milan in Champions League Final to secure treble

Manchester City scripted history on Saturday night in Istanbul, beating Inter Milan 1-0 in the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final to be crowned European champions for the first time in their history. Spanish midfielder Rodri scored the winning goal for City in the 68th minute at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, helping Pep Guardiola’s side secure an era-defining treble, becoming just the second English side to complete this meteoric feat.

Inter had their chances to send the tie to extra-time in a tense finish, but Manchester City held on thanks to some miraculous saves from Ederson in the closing moments to finally clinch the trophy that has eluded them in the 15 years since the Abu Dhabi takeover.

It was a cagey affair between the two in-form sides in the first half, with an organised Inter defence offering little space to Manchester City and Erling Haaland, who only managed one opening in the 27th minute but had his shot saved by Andre Onana. The talking point of a goalless first half was the injury to Kevin de Bruyne, forcing the Belgian off early in a Champions League semi-final for the second time in three seasons.

City’s nerves were on display throughout the cagey encounter as they struggled to break Inter down and uncharacteristically misplaced passes. Inter even nearly profited from Manuel Akanji’s sloppiness to start the second half, with Lautaro Martinez pouncing on a loose ball after the defender’s indecision, only for Ederson to make a vital save to deny the Argentine from a tight angle.

However, despite being careless in possession, City produced the defining moment of quality in the game to break the deadlock. Manuel Akanji atoned for his earlier error, slipping in Bernardo Silva, whose deflected cutback was side-footed into the bottom corner by the oncoming Rodri to put the English side 1-0 in front in the 68^th minute.

Inter hit back after going a goal down, threatening to find an equaliser on multiple occasions in the closing moments. Federico Dimarco struck the crossbar with a looping header before his second goal-bound attempt was inadvertently blocked by his teammate Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian had an even clearer chance to level the scores but fluffed his lines, sending his header straight at the feet of Ederson, who pulled off a stunning save to keep the score at 1-0. The Brazilian shot-stopper made one last vital intervention in the final minute of stoppage time, punching away an Inter corner to seal the treble for Manchester City and make them the sixth English side to be crowned the Kings of Europe.