1. A deep pass to Bernardo Silva broke the monotony of Man City's attack, midway through the second half of a jelly-like final. Akanji passed to him and the Portuguese crossed back for Rodri to score the most important goal in Man City's history.
Pep makes history with Man City
1-0 to Man City. The explosive power helped break down the solid wall of Inter and allowed Pep Guardiola to win his first Champions League title since leaving Barcelona.
His 35th title in 15 seasons as a professional coach and perhaps his most painful. It also took Guardiola beyond the threshold of no other manager: winning two trebles with two different clubs.
Pep Guardiola built two legendary clubs in two different countries, different football backgrounds and different cultures.
"14 years ago today I won the treble with Barcelona and 14 is Johan Cruyff's number," Guardiola said after the final in Istanbul. "I am grateful to the sporting director (Txiqui Beriguistain) and the CEO (Ferran Soriano). They have always supported me."
Pep has received full backing for his current success, admitting a bit of luck. "Many people sack coaches and dismantle projects when they don't win the Champions League. The team suffered, we could have lost twice at the end of the game."
The victory at Ataturk Stadium affirmed the project that Man City pursued with Pep. Not for a moment did the UAE owners or the duo Beriguistain and Soriano lose faith in him.
"I feel that this Champions League validates the five Premier League titles we have achieved since 2016," Guardiola argued.
The Spanish coach emphasized: "If the whole world says we need the Champions League to be recognized, maybe that is true. Sometimes you just need this kind of luck that in the past, against Chelsea (2020-21 final) or Tottenham (2018-19 quarter-finals), we did not have."
It is a vital virtue, a panacea for problems in any competition. On the touchline at the Ataturk Stadium, Guardiola continued to instill patience in his players throughout the game against Inter.
As the final began, the first thing that happened was confusion among many Man City players. On the other side, goalkeeper Andre Onana received the ball from a back pass, and when Man City tried to press, he kicked the ball far into the stands.
The ball left Onana’s feet and flew through the cloud of kerosene and sulphur that had filled the air since the pre-match ceremony. The message to the 70,000 spectators at the Ataturk was that to beat the Italians, you had to be more patient than they were.
Guardiola built Man City by signing the brightest, most aggressive players within his reach in the transfer market. They were masters of the art of moving the ball at breakneck speed, and he fuelled that fury with selfless sacrifice.
Man City had a difficult but worthy match
Until we get to the decisive matches. Duels like the first leg of the semi-final against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, the FA Cup final win over MU, or the final that just took place in Istanbul.
Then Pep began to adjust his tactics. Where Guardiola had previously demanded pressure, rhythm, control of pace and space, he now demanded caution.
Patience, in the language of the Man City dressing room, means being careful with risky passes, preventing the ball from falling into the opponent's hands and causing a deadly counter-attack.
In this way, the calm and sometimes almost pausing of the ball can lead to confusion in the Man City players used to playing fast. For a long time, Pep tried to build this habit to impose in the final, as well as the first leg against Real Madrid.
With Inter in no hurry, the final passed without recording anything other than a display of order, rigour and safety, with Guardiola punctuated by shouting, sometimes kneeling, to alert some of his players to errors (at least Ederson, Akanji and Bernardo Silva startled City with passing errors).
For more than an hour, the City fans, who were less familiar with Istanbul than the Italians and had arrived later, were confused. Then it all exploded with Rodri's artistic right-footed shot.
3. "We didn't deserve to lose," Simone Inzaghi concluded after receiving the silver medal. "We played a great final. I hug all my boys, one by one."
Acerbi, Brozovic, Darmian and Dzeko are all over 30. The slow pace gives them oxygen. The long game suits them. Every minute that passes at 0-0 increases Inter's confidence.
Pep and hero Rodri
A final that many consider one of the most lopsided in history ended in a surprising way. Man City and Inter shared chances and dangerous attacks. But the English champions were a little luckier.
"I played very badly in the first half, but the coach encouraged me and told me to act like a leader," said hero Rodri. "Scoring in the Champions League final shows that anyone who works hard can do it. I was going to shoot hard, but in the end I said to myself: put it in."
Inter, in a final where catenaccio was effectively implemented, put Man City to the test. Only, the finishing touches were accompanied by frustration from Dimarco and his teammates. They were unlucky, but that's football.
Man City escaped adversity to win the Champions League and complete a great treble, in Guardiola's 101st victory in the competition. Only Carlo Ancelotti (191) and Alex Ferguson (190) have surpassed him. Pep is truly a living football legend.
"Watch out, Real Madrid, we're coming for you!" Guardiola joked at his press conference. "We only need 13 more titles to catch up." From now on, Man City have an important place in the pantheon of European football history.
Clubs that won the treble in European football:
- 1966-67: Celtic
- 1971-72: Ajax
- 1987-88: PSV
- 1998-99: MU
- 2008-09: Barcelona
- 2009-10: Inter
- 2012-13: Bayern Munich
- 2014-15: Barcelona
- 2019-20: Bayern Munich
- 2022-23: Man City
According to NGOC HUY (Vietnamnet)
Source link
Comment (0)