Opening the floodgates
Winning the first one is so often the hardest and don't Manchester City know it. They failed to turn up in Porto two years ago and for all the claims they were ready this time, that they knew what to expect, they hardly exerted their authority on a tense and tetchy game in Istanbul.
But finals are for winning and for the second time in a week that is what City have done. For the first time, they are champions of Europe. At the risk of being presumptuous, it won't be the last time we are saying that.
