Inter lost the Champions League final against Manchester City

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Inter were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League final, played on Saturday night at the Ataturk Olympic stadium in Istanbul. It was a much tighter final than expected, as Inter were considered clear underdogs, and the decisive goal was scored by the Spaniard’s Rodrigo in the second half, with around twenty minutes remaining.

After conceding the goal from behind, Inter reacted by going close to equalizing on several occasions: with a crossbar hit by Federico Dimarco and with a close-range header from Romelu Lukaku, instinctively saved by Ederson, the Brazilian goalkeeper of City . Despite these chances, City managed to hang on and held their lead until the end.

Thanks to this victory, Manchester City are European champions for the first time in their 129-year history. It was their second Champions League final – after the one they lost against Chelsea two years ago – and by winning it they became the eighth European team to have achieved the so-called trebleo triplet: This season he had already won the English domestic league and cup.

For his coach Pep Guardiola, in charge since 2016, it is instead the third victory in the Champions League after the two obtained with Barcelona between 2008 and 2011 (the fourth if one also counts the one won as a player in 1992, again with the Barcelona). Counting all official competitions, for Guardiola it is the 34th title of his career: only the Scotsman Alex Ferguson has won more in the history of professional football.

The Champions League final in Istanbul was the last big fixture of the European football season. None of the three Italian teams that played in the three continental finals managed to win: before Inter, Roma had been defeated on penalties by Sevilla in the Europa League and Fiorentina had lost the Conference League final against West Ham.