The Champions League final was played in Istanbul on Saturday 10th June, with Manchester City beating Inter.
«Манчестер Сити» — «Интер» — 1:0. Фото: gettyimages.com"MANCHESTER CITY (England) v Inter (Milan, Italy) 1-0 (0-0)
Goal: Rodri (69).
"Manchester City: Ederson, Ake, Ruben Dias, Akandja, Rodri, Stones (Walker 82), Grealish, Gundogan, de Bruyne (Fodin 36).
"Inter: Onana, Bastoni (Gozens 75), Acerbi, Darmian (d'Ambrosio 84), Dimarco, Calhanoglu (Mkhitaryan 84), Brozovic, Barella, Dumfries (Bellanova 75), Jacko (Lukaku 57), L. Martinez.
Manchester City began the main match of the season with Guardiola's side taking control of the ball and creating their first goal-scoring chance as early as the 6th minute of the game. Silva, coming down the right-hand side of the box, shot from the penalty spot into the far corner - the ball flew over the bar. It looked as though the chances would be one after another, but, surprisingly, the Italians managed to level the game in the next few minutes.
Moreover, Inzaghi's men managed not only to slow down City's offensive tempo but also began to conduct their own positional attacks. From time to time, Ederson was "checked" from long range by Inter's midfielders, but to no avail. Realizing that such a game would be to the Italians' advantage, the Manchester club tried to increase their pace, but the nominal visitors withstood the onslaught. Moreover, in the middle of the first half, they managed to take one of City's leaders, Kevin de Bruyne, out of the game. The Belgian was injured in a fight with the opposition and left the field, giving way to Fodin.
Yet it was Guardiola's men who came closest to opening the scoring before the break. Holland had a great opportunity when he went almost one-on-one with Onana but he failed to beat the keeper. The half ended tense as well - the Italians fouled almost every episode, not giving their opponents any space. As a result, the first half ended dry.
Эрлинг Холанд. Фото: gettyimages.comAfter the break the picture of the game did not change much - Manchester City continued to have more possession, but Holland and his team were always missing the final pass or shot. But Inter could well have opened the scoring on 59 minutes: following an error by Acandja, Martinez went one-on-one with Ederson, but the English club's goalkeeper again played reliably and parried the Argentine's shot.
And yet, Manchester City deservedly managed to open the scoring on 69 minutes: after a beautiful combination and a pass to Inter's penalty area, the ball went to Rodri, who accurately hit the ball past all the Italian club players - into the net -1-0! But literally on the very next attack the Italians could level the score - after a dribble into the penalty area, Dimarco first hit the crossbar with his head, and on the rebound failed to score with accuracy on an almost empty net!
Towards the end of the match Inzaghi went all-out and made a number of substitutions with an emphasis on attacking. But neither Lukaku, nor the rest of the Nerazzurri squad could finish off the game until the final whistle, although they did create a vital chance - on 89 minutes, Lukaku unleashed a shot from one metre into Dias who was standing on the goal line! After that episode, it was already clear that the English would not concede victory.
"Manchester City are the winners of Europe's major club competition! Guardiola's fine squad have quite deservedly won the trophy, having secured a treble this season!
Vladimir Bobyr
