The moment Manchester City had been waiting for finally arrived when the clock in Istanbul ticked down to midnight, and the old, vast city on the banks of the Bosphorus could turn sky blue.

Manchester City’s trip to the Champions League title has been scenic and frequently excruciatingly painful, but with their triumph over Inter Milan, they were finally able to claim the massive trophy.

Pep Guardiola’s team won the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup with the victory, joining only Manchester United as the other English club to accomplish the feat.

For Guardiola, who paced and pawed at the massive technical areas of Ataturk Stadium in agitation during an attritional match, Rodri’s 68th-minute winner sealed his legacy and cemented his place among the game’s all-time greats.

Up until Manchester City won the Champions League, he was aware that there would be an implicit question mark over his tenure as manager.

if it was fair or not, if he could add to his two victories with Barcelona in this competition, the most recent being in 2011, would always frame the evaluation of his job.

Now, the decision can be made. Guardiola’s excellence is beyond dispute.

most recent Manchester City news, opinion, and analysis
Receive Man City news alerts.
Man City wins the Champions League, completing the treble.
“Guardiola is the best player ever,”
To Guardiola and the Manchester City players, the final harsh whistle of Polish referee Szymon Marciniak will have sounded like the loveliest symphony. They had toiled and, let there be no mistake, suffered for this.

Simone Inzaghi of Inter was comforted by Guardiola’s words of encouragement as he turned to make the lengthy trek down the touchline in his moment of victory.

ADVERTISEMENT

Sheikh Mansour, the owner of Manchester City, was observing from a height in Istanbul. This was only his second game since the club’s Abu Dhabi owners took over in 2008.

He witnessed the benefits of his good fortune bring about the ultimate victory while sporting a Manchester City scarf and a bland grin. Not bad for only playing your second game.

At this point, the discussions surrounding City veer off course.

Nobody can avoid the reality that they are currently being investigated by the Premier League for 115 financial rule violations, which many people believe diminish their accomplishments. It is important to note that City vigorously denies the allegations and will continue to do so throughout the discussion in the days to come.

A glorious release and emotional exchange between Guardiola, City’s players, and fans, many of whom will recall the agony of long ago when this club spent a season in English football’s third tier in 1998-99 but still drew an average attendance of almost 30,000 at Maine Road, took place amid the golden glitter that shot into the Turkish sky as Ilkay Gundogan held the silver trophy aloft.

After Manchester City defeated Inter Milan in the Champions League final, Phil Foden celebrates with the supporters.
Prior to Saturday’s victory, City had advanced to three quarterfinals, two semifinals, and one final in the Champions League (which they lost to Chelsea in 2021 by a score of 1-0).
As it finally got home that the day they had been waiting for had come, that the agony of the Champions League was finally over, tears were shed. The peak that Manchester City had been battling to climb had been done so. It’s understandable that many players and adults fans were in tears.

Kevin de Bruyne said that this competition has turned into both a dream and an obsession after having a second Champions League final cruelly cut short by injury. The wish has come true. The compulsion had vanished.

The loss to English rivals Chelsea in the 2021 final and when victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat in a crazy semi-final second leg against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu last year serve as microcosms of City’s ability to inflict pain on themselves in the Champions League.

Man City’s happiness and emotion are depicted in images.
There was a hint of irony in Rodri scoring the game-winning goal for City, given one of the main discussions following the humiliating loss to Chelsea in Porto was on Guardiola’s puzzling decision to leave out his midfield dynamo. There was no error this time.

In many ways, this marks the conclusion of City’s first phase of their attack on football’s highest point in Europe. They will undoubtedly be favorites for the Champions League competition next season, as well as favorites once more for the three titles they have already won this year.

Guardiola appeared exhausted as City’s players erupted in jubilation all around him. It made sense because it will be so important to him.

Despite dominating domestically and winning five Premier League championships in six years, his work is now finished for the time being. This determined, obsessive perfectionist will want to repeat everything next season and improve upon it.

Guardiola was brought to Manchester City specifically to win this trophy. Under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini before him, they had won league championships. His goal was to win the Champions League, which is why the ongoing argument about his time at Etihad Stadium is absurd in actuality.

The appointment of Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, two of his former Barcelona teammates, as CEO and director of football, respectively, was essentially an act of preparing the City home for the entrance of its most significant tenant, Guardiola.

He gave his mission statement that hot night in Istanbul.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, once referred to Manchester City as “the noisy neighbors.” Neither was it supposed to be a compliment nor was it one.

Inter Milan 1-0 Manchester City: City supporters respond to Rodri’s goal
The crowds that poured out of Ataturk Stadium to celebrate City’s greatest night at the conclusion of their best season were unquestionably thunderous.

Since coming under Abu Dhabi’s management, they have won seven Premier League championships, three FA Cups, and six League Cups.

However, they had their sights set on the Champions League ever since the day in September 2008 that the landscape of English football was forever altered.

Manchester City has finally altered the landscape of European football, and this may mark the beginning of a period in which they dominate the Champions League.