Manchester City was proclaimed champion of the Champions League for the first time in its history. A goal from Rodrigo ended the drought for the English team in the top continental competition. The English press and the rest of the world surrender to him. “Rodrigo secures Champions League glory”, headlines the Daily Mirror, also noting that “Guardiola’s men achieve a historic treble”.
Daily Mirror: “Rodri’s sublime goal was enough”
“Rodrigo ensured the glory of the Champions League. It was far from beautiful, but this was a night where only the result mattered. Manchester City is the European champion for the first time and the second English club to complete the treble. Pep Guardiola’s side did not put on the skillful and commanding display that they have routinely put on this campaign. But on a tense and humid night in Istanbul, Rodri’s sublime goal in the 68th minute was enough to break a stubborn Inter Milan and exorcise more than a decade of ghosts”
Daily Mail: “A goal from Rodri decided the final”
“Manchester City have lived in the shadow of a more glamorous local rival for much of their history, but with the victory against Inter at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, which completed an imperial treble and marked their first Champions League, they came out of that shadow and ran towards the light. This wasn’t the commanding performance many had hoped for, but it was enough. A second-half goal from Rodri, the player Pep Guardiola left out of City’s loss to Chelsea in the 2021 final, decided a match that at times felt ominously as if it were slipping away from the English champions. But this time, after so many previous failures, City got the job done. “Noisy neighbours” was the derisive epithet Sir Alex Ferguson once gave City, but on the edge of vast and bustling Istanbul, the noisy neighbors finally broke down the door and they turned a corner of Türkiye into a raving Manchester outpost. The house that Ferguson built collapsed over a decade ago and the beautiful team that City’s resourceful and obsessive manager Pep Guardiola has built now rules with a velvet glove concealing an iron fist.
The Guardian: “The crowning glory for City”
“For Manchester City, it was the crowning glory, the trophy they craved to complete the treble. It is often said that clubs must suffer before they win the Champions League and how City have, especially during the Pep Guardiola years when his national dominance had given him no guarantees in the most capricious competition in Europe. They suffered a little more here. Inter pushed him to the end, much more than many expected. The team that finished third in Serie A held their own against City for much of a night. Manchester City beat Inter 1-0 to win the Champions League and seal the treble.”
Gazzetta dello Sport: “Inter, what a pity!
Wow, what a pity! He played at the level of City, but the Champions League went to Guardiola. The nerazzurri they surrendered to a goal from Rodri. Dimarco finished off the woodwork, while Lukaku wasted a chance from point-blank range. Pep’s third Champions League. Manchester City won the first Champions League in its history with a goal from Rodri in the middle of the second half, while Inter regretted a wasted opportunity by Lautaro to make it 0-1, a crossbar finished off by Dimarco and, a few seconds from the final, a header from Lukaku, which could have taken the game to extra time. Inzaghi’s team, in their first loss after seven final wins, leaves Istanbul with their heads held high: against perhaps the strongest formation in the world, the game plan was perfect and caged City for a long time, until the goal of the Spanish midfielder. The feared Haaland, well controlled by Acerbi, did not score, but in the end it was Guardiola who smiled and completed the treble he had already achieved with Barcelona. Now United are no longer the only Manchester team to have won it.
L’Equipe: “Citizen Kings”
“Manchester City won their first Champions League against Inter and completed the treble. Thanks to a goal from Rodri, Manchester City won the first Champions League in its history this Saturday, against Inter Milan (1-0). The citizens They achieve the first treble for an English club since 1999. Manchester City won the first Champions League in its history and the second European Cup since the creation of the club on Saturday night, against Inter Milan (1-0). Rodri scored the only goal of the game with a very nice shot from a drive into the area.. Thanks to this victory, Manchester City achieved a historic hat-trick: Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League”.
Bild: “City celebrate their first Champions League title!”
“The English defeat Inter Milan (1-0) in the Champions League final and celebrate their first win in the top competition. Therefore, complete the triplet with the victory in the Premier, the Cup and the Champions League. Rodri saved his team with the title goal. The final started with an early scare for Pep’s team. Star Kevin de Bruyne had to be substituted injured in the 36th minute. In the 2021 final, in the 0-1 defeat against Chelsea, he had to leave the field after an hour of play.
A Bola: “There is the first Orejona from City”
“Manchester City beat Inter 1-0 this Saturday in the Champions League final and became European champions for the first time in its history. Rodri was the great hero of City, who had Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva, when he scored the only goal of the game, in the 68th minute. After a first part, which was marked by the departure of Kevin De Bruyne due to injury, lukewarm and without great chances, the second part started along the same lines. The first big chance came in the 59th minute, after a miss from Akanji. Lautaro Martínez was left alone, but, in Ederson’s face, he failed to score. The answer came the next minute, Rúben Dias headed over Onana’s goal. When Inter was even more aggressive in the game, Manchester City scored the goal that gave the English club the title and the treble”.
Record: “City’s bad leg is broken”
“Manchester City’s bad leg in the Champions League is already broken. The English team added the third trophy won this season, after the Premier League and the FA Cup. It was the first Champions League in the club’s history, the third for Pep Guardiola and the first for the Portuguese Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva. The winger was even one of the stars of the match, as he was in the play that resulted in the only goal of the match, scored by Rodri, in minute 68″.
Olé: “Consecration for Guardiola”
“Manchester City achieved what they dreamed of so much: they beat Inter 1-0 and thus won the first Champions League in their history in a very tight final. Rodri converted a goal for the citizens on one of the few occasions they generated. On the other side, Lautaro had it 0-0 and then Inter lost the tie with Di Marco and Lukaku in an incredible way. Celebration for Julián Álvarez, despite the fact that Pep Guardiola did not give him any minutes. Consecration for the City coach”.
El País: “Rodri exalts Manchester City”
“The Spanish midfielder resolved a rough final that crowned Guardiola’s team, protagonist this season of a triplet after defeating a demanding Inter. The famous City of Guardiola finally has the most desired trophy which is the Champions League after winning a very rough final against Inter. Although admiration is achieved through the game, recognition and respect is achieved with the titles and especially with the European Cup. It wasn’t exactly a solemn or happy match for the players, but it ended with a goal from one of the best mid-distance shooters, Rodri. The 1-0 ultimately crowned the young Manchester team that coexists with the old United, the only two Englishmen who can boast of having the triple crown: League, Cup and Champions. Now nobody will be able to reproach the three-time champion Guardiola for not having lifted the trophy without Messi”.