Perhaps it was always meant to be this way in Istanbul. In a sprawling city that straddles two continents and lives off its chaotic, consuming energy, a football club that has embraced just about every emotion possible reached the pinnacle while threatening to fall back to earth throughout. They were never going to make it look easy.
But Manchester City are champions of Europe. Somehow. Deservedly. Forgettably and unforgettably. Five minutes before midnight on a sultry Istanbul evening, the dream became a reality.
City fans had travelled to one of the continent's furthest outposts in their thousands to witness a coronation and a coronation is what they got. Nobody connected to City will want to relive the football produced at the Ataturk Stadium, but the celebrations are another matter.
