Rodri scored the only goal of the 2023 UEFA Champions League final for Manchester City against Inter, sealing the third leg of a historic European treble for Pep Guardiola's team on Saturday night.
A desperately cagey contest was decided in the second half but City had to survive numerous scares, with Inter's luckless Romelu Lukaku coming off the bench to reprise his series of unfortunate events from the World Cup.
Last year's Champions League final in Paris caused a flood of problems for Liverpool supports and plenty of fans struggled to get into Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium on Saturday as well.
Fortunately, everybody's favourite seasoning specialist beat the traffic.
Guardiola's Premier League champions strolled into the contest as huge favourites. Even Inter manager Simone Inzaghi conceded that "when you go to face City you start [as] underdogs." However, Inter's unexpected high press knocked City out of their stride.
Even when City seem to be suffocatingly dominant, Guardiola rarely cuts a composed figure. However, the Catalan coach was sweating through his blazer on the touchline.
Guardiola's demeanour was not improved by the first-half injury which Kevin De Bruyne sustained, forcing City's most prolific assist provider off after 36 minutes.
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While De Bruyne appeared to sustain a hamstring injury, Inter didn't shy away from making forceful contact with City's other players throughout a combative contest. Inevitably, foul-magnet Jack Grealish received plenty of blows.
Guardiola didn't heed his own advice to calm down when a mix-up between Manuel Akanji and Ederson gave Lautaro Martinez a one-on-one chance on the hour mark. City's Brazilian stopper managed to smother the Inter skipper - much to Guardiola's relief - but Inter hardly looked like the rank outsiders as they were framed.
Nevertheless, City kept on plugging away. Akanji more than made up for his earlier error, stepping into midfield and sliding Bernardo Silva into the box. With a rare venture into Inter's area, Bernardo's cutback rebounded fortuitously for Rodri to spank in the opener.
City's lead barely lasted five minutes before Federico Dimarco looped a header onto Ederson's crossbar. The rebound fell back for the wingback whose second effort was inadvertently rebuffed by his own teammate Lukaku in chaotic scenes.
After missing a glut of chances for Belgium against Croatia in the decisive World Cup group stage game in November.
In a way, it got even worse for Lukaku. Back in the six-yard box again, Lukaku purposefully made contact with the ball, thumping a downward header which Ederson somehow managed to rebuff with his knee.
Ederson made another last-gasp stop at the death - mercifully Lukaku wasn't wayward on this occasion - to ensure that City clung onto their narrow victory.
This article was originally published on 90min as Twitter reacts to Man City's narrow Champions League final victory over Inter.
