And breathe.
Manchester City are champions of Europe for the first time in their history, but not before putting their fans through an excruciating night with a performance well below their best. What was almost Typical City became Treble winners City with a second-half Rodri strike that settled a nervy night full of errors that left Pep Guardiola on all fours in exasperation.
Nobody connected with the club will want to remember the game but the achievement will go down in history forever and will be celebrated by every Blue as wildly as it deserves. As the full-time whistle blew at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul though, relief was the primary emotion sweeping across the winners.
In the days since beating United in the cup final, it has increasingly felt like this had to be the night. It didn't of course, because had they not won they would still be likely challenging next season, but everything was aligned to help a team with two trophies claim their third and in doing so claim a European crown that has always - and often painfully - eluded them.
Read next: Man City player ratings as John Stones stands out
The team were in better shape than 2021 and Guardiola had gone back to his basics with a 3-4-3 formation that brought Barcelona their first Champions League title when he was a midfielder, using John Stones high up the pitch. Even Sheikh Mansour was in attendance for a VIP list that included Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez, while twenty thousand Blues defied travel chaos in Istanbul thinking that if this was not it, would it ever be and how would City recover from yet more heartbreak?
The start, perhaps to be expected, was cagey.
Bernardo Silva flashed a shot across the post in the opening minutes but Inter were fast to chase City down in possession and break in numbers through the middle when they won the ball back. But with even Rodri spraying wayward passes the nerves grew and when a short corner routine uncharacteristically caught the Blues out, there were shouts of encouragement from the supporters behind their goal, sensing that they needed a spark to get going.
With no response, it was Guardiola's turn. Calm down, he told his players as he advanced to the edge of his ludicrously large technical area. The manager had warned on Friday of the dangers of feeling like Inter were winning at 0-0 and this exactly what was happening as frustration set in.
More missed passes, then a good save from Andre Onana to deny Erling Haaland, then an injury concern to Kevin De Bruyne. Guardiola screamed at Phil Foden to be ready to come on and he stripped to his kit, only for the Belgian to head back on the pitch.
It all added to a sense of unease as everyone who has watched City storm their way to two trophies this season struggled to compute how basically the same players were malfunctioning this badly. Surely, surely, this wasn't going to be the most City way possible to throw away a golden shot at history?
When De Bruyne succumbed to injury - wretched luck to be forced off early in two Champions League finals now - it did in a way add to the lack of rhythm, putting Foden into a central position he has rarely played in. Yet it also allowed a reset and someone with as much quality as Foden had everything needed to grab the game by the scruff of its neck.
If anyone was going to get City out of the hellish hole they had fallen into, it was more likely to be John Stones. Gliding gracefully up and down the pitch playing everwhere from defence to up front while his teammates slipped and stumbled, the Englishman has taken his game to new heights and seems to be unlocking extra levels with each passing performance.
The team that City have built their success around even when signing the best striker in the world simply wasn't functioning though. Manu Akanji made a dreadful call to leave a ball in behind to force Ederson into a good save from Lautaro Martinez as the game ticked over into an hour with Inter fancying their chances and throwing Romelu Lukaku on.
Then it happened. From nowhere, Akanji split the defence and fed Bernardo to lay the ball back for Rodri; the Spaniard was enduring his worst City game in months but stroked home the opening goal to spark jubilation and relief.
Still that wasn't enough to calm City down and they had to rely on Lukaku to block Federico Dimarco's effort after his original header had come back off the bar and left Ederson on the floor. A scoreboard lead wasn't going to make the next 20 minutes any less painful for the Blues.
Somehow, and in no small part due to an unbelievable block from Ederson when Lukaku headed goalwards from just yards out, City hung on. The final whistle drew the predictably wild runs across the pitch from players and staff, while Guardiola kept his calm and classily went straight over to Inter counterpart Simone Inzaghi.
There will be time for City's celebrations, and for their achievements to be taken in. There Is also the serious matter of the Premier League charges hanging over the Blues accusing them of nearly a decade of misrepresenting their finances, which would if proven completely change how their success is viewed.
That is all for when the dust settles on a momentous night in the club's history that saw the club and fans achieve something they had felt in all those painful exits would never come.
Treble winners City are kings of Europe, and with that taste of success will now be intent on extending their reign. They are really here, and they are here to stay.
ALSO READ
