It was far from beautiful but this was a night where only the result mattered. Manchester City are the champions of Europe for the first time and the second English club to complete the treble.
Pep Guardiola’s team did not produce the slick, dominant display they have rolled out routinely in this blistering campaign. But on a tense and clammy night in Istanbul, Rodri’s sublime first-time finish in the 68th minute was enough to break an obdurate Inter Milan and exorcise more than a decade of demons.
With owner Sheikh Mansour attending only his second ever game - sitting in the posh seats with the chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak on one side and UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the other - this was the night their £1bn+ vision was realised.
There will be constant and justified references to the Premier League's 115 charges from rival supporters, the issues of state ownership and transformative investment that no one can match will continue to be debated.
But that will have not mattered a jot to the City players and staff as they celebrated their hat-trick of trophies. All of them entirely deserved when the whole thing is pared down to solely what happens on the pitch.
While the game had been largely fraught, City did make a lively start and fashioned a pair of half chances, spurned by Erling Haaland (who ended up being flagged offside) and Bernardo Silva.
Yet it was mostly turgid stuff until the moment Rodri fired home. Inter, compact defensively and direct in attack, were undaunted and began to make inroads. Ederson’s casual nature, surmised by a couple of clearances that invited trouble, and some surprisingly loose passing from midfield infused the Serie A side with belief.
Edin Dzeko, the former City star, was offering more than Haaland on the other side despite being unable to break into anything quicker than a jog, while the advancing full back, Denzel Dumfries and Federico Dimarco, pressed smartly and got forward when permitted. The only thing they lacked was a clear attempt on goal.
It was enough to have Guardiola, in a black suit, losing his marbles on the edge of his technical area, screaming “relax, relax, calm down” at his players. With 28 minutes on the clock Haaland sprung into action, getting behind Inter’s back three for the first time, only for his low shot to find Andre Onana in the way.
Then came a massive blow as Kevin De Bruyne hurt a hamstring, immediately signalled to the bench that he could not continue and, just like 2021, found his night on the biggest stage curtailed.
Phil Foden was not a bad replacement to call upon but the same pattern remained well into the second half; the only moment of note being a Manuel Akanji slip that allowed Lautaro Martinez through only to be denied by Ederson’s chest from a tight angle.
But as it looked like the long Istanbul night would continue into early morning and the prospect of 30 additional minutes loomed on the horizon, Inter’s concentration briefly lapsed and City produced their first real slick move. Akanji, atoning for his error, slid a through ball to Bernardo, who then cleverly cut the ball back towards Rodri. Arriving in the area with no Inter man tracking, the Spain central midfielder sent a clinical first-time effort past Onana.
Some City players fell to the ground in a moment of palpable relief. Ederson slid across his penalty area and the thousands of City fans, who had grown subdued while witnessing their team’s frustration, exploded into life.
Inter were not finished and almost immediately Dimarco watched a looping header come off the bar with Ederson at full stretch - only for the wing back’s goalward rebound to hit the unwitting Romelu Lukaku’s backside.
The game naturally became far more open and Lukaku, on as a substitute a few minutes before the opener, had a shot smothered by Ederson before Foden went close to sealing it for City with a rapid counterattack culminating in a tame enough shot being easily stopped by Onana.
Ederson was still required to produce some late heroics as Inter threw everyone forward for five additional minutes. But City got over the line and their dream campaign was complete.
