2023-06-10 23:45:53
The Champions League is a real race full of obstacles and suffering, and for theManchester City it would not be less. The team of Pep Guardiola has conquered the first League of Champions of the ‘citizens’ to complete the treble in a dream season, although he has done it with a lot of suffering and resorting to that ‘other football’ that he has criticized so much on other occasions.
The Istanbul grand final has been far from one of those glittering matches that Manchester City treat fans to every weekend. The English team barely created any danger in a first half in which their clearest occasion was a shot from Erling Haaland that cleared André Onana without further complications.
The tonic was repeated in the second part, until in the 68th minute Rodri Hernández picked up a loose ball in the area to score the only goal of the match with apowerful shot before whom Onana could do nothing.
From that moment on, Inter launched with everything to look for the equalizing goal, and he had it twice, but Lukaku’s lack of success and the stick prevented the Italians from taking the game to extra time.
The first great opportunity was Frederick Dimarco just a couple of minutes after the goal. The interista winger headed a shipment into the area and surpassed Ederson, but the ball crashed into the crossbar. Dimarco himself picked up the rebound and was about to push the ball into an empty goal, but Lukaku crossed his path and prevented the Italian’s goal.
The team of Simone Inzaghi he continued to attack, and in the 88th minute he had the clearest of the game. After another lateral cross, Gosens combed the ball, leaving Lukaku a free shot, but the belgian was wrong again. He headed in just five yards from goal, but was unable to get the ball to the side of the goal, crashing the shot off Ederson’s foot.
In the last play of the game, Inter had it again to tie the final. Federico Dimarco masterfully took a corner from the right sector, and Robin Gosens shot alone at the near post, but Ederson managed to parry the German’s shot.
During the last 20 minutes, the siege of Inter Milan forced Manchester City to resort to wasting time to stop the attacks of the ‘neroazzurri’. That provoked the anger of Inzaghi on the bench and his footballers on the field.
The referee of the match, Szymon Marciniak, had to call the attention of the ‘citizens’ players on several occasions, and even showed the yellow card to the goalkeeper Ederson, who delayed each serve as much as possible to scratch a few seconds.
Pep Guardiola has had to resort to that “other football” that he has criticized so many times to win the most important game since he signed for Manchester City in 2016. But that resource so rejected by Guardiola has been the one that has allowed him to win his first Champions League away from Barcelona. Undoubtedly, the end justifies the means.
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