Pep Guardiola has finally delivered that last piece of missing silverware for Manchester City -- the Champions League trophy.
Guardiola's side capped off their historic season on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. Despite a shaky start, Spanish midfielder Rodri eventually found the decisive goal in the 68th minute to crown the Citizens champions of Europe.
City entered Saturday's final seeking their first-ever Champions League trophy. Coming off a 2-1 FA Cup win last weekend, they were also playing for a chance to match Manchester United's 1999 squad as the only English teams to complete the treble -- winning the league, the league cup and the European Cup.
Inter, meanwhile, were heavy underdogs against the English giants but didn't show signs of intimidation early on. They were strong on the ball and kept City from settling into the possession-dominant play they've mastered the past seven seasons under Guardiola.
City's problems went from bad to worse when midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was forced to the sideline with an injury in the 36th minute. This loss of one of their key distributors was reminiscent of the 2021 Champions League Finals -- City's only other appearance -- when De Bruyne went off with an injury early in the second half and ultimately lost 1-0 to Chelsea.
Fortunately for City, they got an answer from a pair of veteran distributors when Bernardo Silva's cross ricocheted to Rodri who slotted the ball right past Inner goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Sports
Inter brought pressure for the last 20 minutes and even forced City goalkeeper Ederson to make an impressive save in the 88th minute, but their efforts weren't enough to find the back of the net by the final whistle.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
