Original title: Manchester City defeated Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the first time and was crowned the “Triple Crown”
In the 2022-2023 UEFA Champions League final held in Istanbul, Turkey on the 10th, Manchester City defeated Inter Milan 1-0 with Rodri’s goal in the second half, winning the UEFA Champions League for the first time in team history, and crowned this season’s Champions League, Premier League and English football at the same time. The “Triple Crown” of the total cup.
Manchester City has reached the Champions League final in the 2020-2021 season, but has never won the championship. This season, Manchester City eliminated Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and other strong teams all the way, becoming the favorite to win the championship. Inter Milan returned to the Champions League final after 13 years.
Throughout the first half, although Manchester City took the initiative on the scene, they failed to find the rhythm of the game under the targeted defense of Inter Milan. In the 36th minute, De Bruyne, the core midfielder of Manchester City, was injured and left the field, adding more variables to the game.
Manchester City’s continuous offensive finally achieved results in the 68th minute. Bay Silva’s bottom pass from the right was blocked. Rodri followed up with a push from the center and scored the only goal of the game.
Inter Milan, which was behind, launched many threatening attacks. Dimarco hit the crossbar with a header in the 71st minute, and then his close-range shot was inadvertently blocked by teammate Lukaku. In the 89th minute, Inter Milan made a cross from the wing, and Lukaku’s header was too close to be blocked by Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson. In the final stage of stoppage time, Gosens headed a corner kick to grab the point, which was again bravely resolved by Ederson.
After this game, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola became the first coach in the history of European football to lead the team to win the “Triple Crown” twice (the Champions League, domestic league and domestic cup championships in the same season). He previously led La Liga Barcelona to the “Triple Crown” in the 2008-2009 season. As the head coach, the achievement of winning the Champions League trophy three times also allowed Guardiola to catch up with famous coaches such as Zidane, second only to the current Real Madrid coach Ancelotti who has won four championships.