Wait Over for Manchester City Fans
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ISTANBUL - They’ve finally done it! Two years after their heart-breaking loss to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final, Manchester City beat Inter Milan 1-0 to finally get their hands on the Champions League and complete the treble.
Many fans had hopes at the beginning of the season that Manchester City would win the Champions League, but it wouldn’t be easy. After destroying RB Leipzig 8-1 on aggregate, Manchester City had to overcome giants Bayern Munich and serial Champions League winners Real Madrid. In these games, Manchester City proved their intent, putting away nine goals combined against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
The final was not a pretty victory by any means, but Manchester City did it. In some ways, maybe it was better that it wasn’t a prettier game. In the past Manchester City have tried to be too pretty at points, leading to them getting knocked out.
Manchester City had their backs against the wall early with Inter Milan creating a lot of chances. Then, just when Manchester City were getting into their groove, Kevin De Bruyne got injured and had to leave the pitch. Fans were reminded of De Bruyne's heart-breaking injury against Chelsea. Besides the game-winning goal, this moment was perhaps the most pivotal in the game. Manchester City could have completely crumbled after losing their creative midfielder, but they didn't, showing the depth and toughness of Manchester City’s squad.
The scorer of the winning goal for Manchester City was an unexpected one. It was not Erling Haaland, not Bernardo Silva, nor Kevin De Bruyne but rather the oft-underappreciated Rodrigo Hernández (Rodri). The player who had been left on the bench for Manchester City’s final heartbreak against Chelsea had scored the winning goal to give Manchester City the trophy they had so richly craved.
In the victory, all question marks about whether Pep Guardiola could lead Manchester City to a Champions League title vanished with the final whistle. As Thierry Henry emphatically stated, there is no better manager than Pep Guardiola. He has made every Manchester City player better, pushing them to a level of performance many fans didn’t know they had. While there have been some dominant Manchester City sides throughout recent years, this side has to be the best of them all. To win the Champions League and the treble is something that every Manchester City fan will relish for a long time.
