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- Manchester City run out 1-0 winners over Inter Milan in Istanbul to win their first-ever Champions League title.
- A second-half strike from Rodri was enough to give Pep Guardiola’s side the victory.
- Inter Milan gave a good account of themselves and Romelu Lukaku should have equalised late on with a point-blank header.
Manchester City Player Ratings: Stones the standout player for the Blues
Contents
Ederson 7/10 – Overcame a nervy start to make some decisive moments late on. His save from Lukaku will be replayed for days to come.
Manuel Akanji 4/10 – Very ropey and nearly gave a goal away and a couple of occasions. Was taken off in the second half.
Ruben Dias 8/10 – Rock solid at the back and made a crucial clearance for a corner when a Lukaku header bounced off Ederson late on.
Nathan Ake 6/10 – A good performance from Ake after being a surprise inclusion in the starting eleven.
John Stones 9/10 – A performance from the ages in midfield from John Stones who looks to have found his perfect position.
Rodri 8/10 – Got the match-winner and was as cool as ever in midfield. The precision of his finish was sublime.
Man City lead in the Champions League final!! 🤩
Rodri breaks the deadlock to score a massive goal for his club! ⚽️#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/DyTitSzOyu
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 10, 2023
Ilkay Gundogan 5/10 – Wasn’t his best performance and was caught in possession on several occasions. It may well be his final performance for the club with his future still undecided.
Kevin de Bruyne 6/10 – Was just growing into the game when he was forced off with an injury.
Bernardo Silva 7/10 – Buzzed around the final third and got better as the game progressed. City will miss him if he leaves.
Jack Grealish 5/10 – Did nothing going forward but worked hard at least.
Erling Haaland 5/10 – Only had one sight at goal throughout his “dream match” and hit it straight at Onana. Still, 52 goals for the season isn’t bad.
Substitutes
Phil Foden 7/10 – Should have killed the game at 1-0 but drove City forward at times.
Kyle Walker 6/10 – Came on for some added pace at the back.
Inter Milan Player Ratings: Lukaku left wondering what might have been
Andre Onana 7/10 – Excellent on the ball and at claiming crosses. Could do absolutely nothing about the goal.
Matteo Darmian 5/10 – Perhaps could have blocked Rodri’s effort for the winner and was clumsy at times.
Francesco Acerbi 7/10 – Rock solid at the back and gave his all.
Alessandro Bastoni 8/10 – Nothing got past Bastoni all night and he didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.
Denzel Dumfries 4/10 – A really poor performance from the Dutchman who was incredibly indecisive in possession and far too rash in the tackle.
Federico Dimarco 8/10 – Got up and down the left flank all night and put in some menacing crosses into the box. Would do well in the Premier League.
Nicolo Barella 6/10 – Wasn’t quite at his best and didn’t see the ball enough.
Marcelo Brozovic 5/10 – Was sloppy in possession and struggled to get close to Rodri in the second half.
Hakan Calhanoglu 5/10 – Almost anonymous throughout.
Lautaro Martinez 5/10 – Arguably Inter’s most reputable player but he was poor on the night. Never really got the ball under control and should have done better when he found himself one on one with Ederson – albeit from a tight angle.
Edin Dzeko 6/10 – Tried hard and his touch was great, however, he did look like a 37-year-old pretty quickly and Inter were better with Lukaku on the pitch.
Substitutes
Romelu Lukaku 6/10 – On one hand he blocked a goalbound effort and missed a sitter, but on the other, he made Inter a far more dangerous side with some intelligent flick-ons and direct play.
WHAT A SAVE FROM EDERSON!! 🤩
Has that moment just won them the Champions League…? 👀#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/NW3wYwYoaD
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 10, 2023
Robin Gosens 6/10 – Worked hard to no avail.
Raoul Bellanova 6/10 – Worked hard to no avail.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.
Danilo D’Ambrosio 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.
Manchester City vs Inter Milan Match Summary and Highlights
Before the match, most people expected Manchester City to blow Inter Milan away but what transpired in Istanbul was completely different. The Italians were dogged in defence and pressed high up the pitch, much to the surprise of Pep Guardiola and everyone watching. In a tense and nervy first half, Inzaghi’s men were the better team but went in level at half time.
As expected, City came out much better in the second half and got the all-important goal in the 68th minute when Rodri ran onto a blocked cross just inside the box. The Spaniard passed the ball around two Inter Milan defenders and into the right-hand corner with Onana in the Inter goal helpless.
The goal sparked wild celebrations at the City end of the Ataturk Stadium but also seemed to spark Inter Milan back into life. They had two golden chances to equalise in the last 20 minutes – first when Federico Dimarco’s looping header crashed against the crossbar and then in the final minute when Romelu Lukaku somehow missed a free header from inside the six-yard box.
In the end, it wasn’t to be for the Italian team and Manchester City were crowned Champions of Europe. In doing so, they also matched Manchester United’s 1999 treble.
Player of the match: John Stones
6/6 – John Stones completed all six of his attempted dribbles against Internazionale (100%); the last player to complete more than that in a UEFA Champions League final was Lionel Messi in 2015 (10 v Juventus). Total. #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/BYXf2kHZEQ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 10, 2023
Stones was at his mercurial best throughout the 90 minutes and looked like the only Manchester City player who wasn’t playing with a weight on their shoulders for much of the game. While other players dipped in and out of the game, Stones was an ever-present in midfield and managed to keep the ball under huge amounts of pressure from the Inter press.
His calmness ultimately transferred to his teammates who were then able to get the job done but without Stones, the result may well have been very different.
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