Ederson, Akanji and Rodri snatched the cup and triple.

Guardiola has chosen a brutal team

It did not work. Walker is on the bench and Bernardo and Grealish are on the wings. Josep’s choice, condemned to be diagnosed as “too smart” in case of failure. Dangerous for the defense, but the Stones habitually could sit deeper, Akanji covered the right flank and Ake habitually moved left. The 3-2-4-1 formation forced Inter to press quite aggressively in the first few minutes.

Inzaghi didn’t risk it, his composition was read. The decision to leave Lukaku is also no surprise. Dzeko has shown that his age doesn’t bother him. Against the former club he charged the defenders with power, taking him away for the sake of free zones for Lautaro. In the first minutes, Manchester City could not pick up the pace, and this affected the speed of the first hour of the game.

The scarcity of events worked for Inter

During the classic fifteen minutes of debut football almost nothing happened, apart from a couple of small tactical fouls. But Marciniak tried not to raise his right hand high and immediately after the scandal, which almost cost the referee another elite appointment. The judge has come to his homeland for a meeting of an obnoxious politician. IN Uefa he reacted quickly and condemned, and the arbiter apologized and stated that he had been deceived about the purpose of the conference.

Next time he’d be more careful, but today he didn’t need composure. “Manchester City” failed to get the ball and “Inter” met well. Dzeko also worked in defense, he even put pressure on Grealish on the wing. Guardiola didn’t like the first half. Before the final, I was able to compare Milan with Manchester United in terms of discomfort for the “citizens”. Today the confrontation worked, but Inzaghi’s team didn’t show themselves in attack.

The key may be the end of time

The first half of the match sets the tone for the fight. It was clear that in Istanbul it was different, but Milan’s self-confidence also helped Liverpool. Manchester City tried not to be cheeky. Inter was clearly rebuilt from the trio to 4-3-3. The British adapted unsuccessfully, but when Holland got into a shock position due to the speed and length of the pass, Onana did not panic and dragged the ball after a wide stroke.

The momentum allowed the “citizens” to find a way out, but De Bruyne immediately flew away. Poor Kevin was a spectator again in the final Champions League, but Foden didn’t come on like a hurricane, and didn’t score after the break. Inter have played better for a long time. Inzaghi’s team, rebuilt correctly, chose the ideal height of the defensive line for itself. They did not allow the “citizens” to separate the lines in width. In attack, little came of it – a shot from Martinez, but Guardiola got nervous and actively gesticulated.

Josep repeated the old mistake

In Porto, Manchester City had a shot on goal from Mendy with 61% possession. Chelsea had two shots but one of them was the winner. Given the presence of Lukaku on the bench, Inter could stand by and watch such a moment. The Citizens kept the ball level in the final against Chelsea, but the lack of impact remained a problem. In Portugal there were 15 attempts for two sides, and in Istanbul just eight in the first half, and equally by both sides.

Guardiola, despite his love of experimentation, is an honest and straightforward coach. Like a serial strangler approaching a football victim with his hands out in front of him. But it’s difficult to strangle an expert fighter with an iron neck like Inter without kicking on goal with your bare hands. A good indicator of the usefulness of Guardiola’s changes after the break could just be the number of shots. When the all-time favorite misses, he is doomed to torment, nerves and a fire game on behalf of an outsider.

Manchester City managed to find a gap

There are traditionally many stereotypes about Inter. The great Herrera developed the bolt at a time when many were terribly defensive, so he stood out. But his Nerazzurri were an incredibly productive team. Another stereotype has to do with Mourinho’s Inter. This team was no stranger to the final against Bayern. Guardiola’s victory over Barcelona made Milito, Sneijder, Lucio and Cambiasso equal opponents for the powerful Germans. Then I was surprised how easily Jose removed Van Gaal.

And today Inzaghi initially removed Guardiola. And the longer Manchester City could not grip Inter’s neck with both hands, the more confidence there was in the Italian counterattack. But it is important to take into account the factor of physics. The wealthiest clubs not only bet on talented players, but also selected athletes. The “citizens” could boot once. But Guardiola naturally asked for support from the stands, Inter held on worthily, Dimarco, Brozovic and Bastoni played a good final. But the Italians have not realized their moment.

Akanji misses Lautaro’s goal, but Martinez doesn’t give it to Lukaku. And then he played the factor mentioned above. Inter got tired faster. As a result, Akanji’s cheeky pass continued with a sharp pass to Bernardo, and then Rodri shot perfectly, sending the ball past the Inter players. The outsider had to take some risks, but quickly equalized by failing. Space worked against the Italians. Yes, Manchester City didn’t knock out their opponent. They weren’t “sharks,” as Mandy liked to call them.

In many segments of the matches, the favorite was worse. And the moment at the end, when Lukaku hit Ederson with the ball, proves it too, as does the Brazilian’s save in the final match. Like missing Haaland, Erling has one hit per game. Maybe Inter just lacked a good game between the lines, Calhanoglu and Barella didn’t work well in attack. But the finals are not about who is stronger at face value, which in Istanbul was carved into football tablets by Liverpool. We are in solidarity with the Italians after losing three European Cup finals in a row.

In all cases they have held up well. But the experience and class worked. Guardiola won the Champions League for the first time since 2011, which automatically leads us to talk about the best manager in football history. A final after which Manchester City will gladly forget the match, but will never forget the result. Congratulations to the Citizens on their first Champions League victory. Based on the sum of many years of effort, they definitely deserve it.