How Manchester City beat Inter Milan in the Champions League final to seal the treble

Communication from Guardiola isn't always forthcoming. That is particularly the case when it comes to his starting line-ups. "He’ll put you on the bench and doesn’t even talk to you, he doesn’t explain why, even if you have that feeling that you deserve to play," says Bacary Sagna, who was at City for Guardiola’s first season.

Guardiola generally does not sit down with a player and explain to them why they are not playing, but has fostered a culture whereby they know that those who train the hardest and have the best attitude are the ones who start matches. “You cannot create something when people who are not playing regularly are creating problems,” he said in 2017. “Bad faces, bad behaviour from those guys — when that happens, forget about it.”

When City sanctioned Joao Cancelo’s loan to Bayern in January, a shock to the outside world, it was because the Portugal defender was seen as a disruptive influence. One of the benefits of removing him was weakening a small group of dissenting voices when Guardiola was trying to restore that final one per cent.

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Inter had a game plan that involved, directly and indirectly, minimising space for the 52-goal striker. In the build-up, their three centre-backs snaffled up almost every ball that went into the Norwegian’s feet when he dropped deeper to link up, restricting him to nine touches in the first half.

They also tried to block De Bruyne and then Foden from poking through balls into the box from colourful areas. They stopped crosses, they blocked passes, they created a blue and black wall. De Bruyne did slip one through as Haaland peeled left, but he was off balance when shooting and couldn’t find a yard either side of Onana.

During build-up play, Haaland was often left one-on-one with Francesco Acerbi when Matteo Darmian and Alessandro Bastoni stepped out to press City’s advanced midfielders – a risky strategy that worked.

Acerbi and Inter won the day when it came to stopping Haaland, but City won't care.

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De Bruyne leaves some big shoes to fill, but Phil Foden oozed class in the second half of a very cagey final.

It is easy to forget that he is only 23, what with his five Premier League titles and six domestic cups.

Whereas De Bruyne looked to roam wide left and exploit Inter’s narrow midfield, Foden operated centrally, playing close to Haaland and attempting to find pockets of space between Inter’s incredibly narrow lines. And on a couple of occasions, he managed it, turning as he received and driving at the goal. But for better finishing, Foden would have found himself on the scoresheet, too.

It is not the first and will certainly not be the last final Foden plays in.

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City’s final chance of the half was a left-footed shot from centre-back Akanji, with all the Inter players behind the ball, taken from almost 30 yards out.

It summed up City’s first-half frustrations, failing to penetrate a compact 5-3-2 defensive block.

City looked rattled and frazzled in the Istanbul heat. The usually reliable Ederson had distribution issues, on multiple occasions kicking into touch when Inter pushed high, and struggled to deal with a looping cross when Lautaro Martinez put him under pressure.

They gifted Inter a golden opportunity to open the lead early into the second half, but most of the second half was controlled by City. It ended with Ederson making a great save from an Inter corner.

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Manchester City have completed the treble for just the 10th time in European football history.

City’s achievement can’t be downplayed, it can’t be underestimated… the word great is ridiculously overused, but they have truly become great. An incredibly gifted football team who have achieved greatness.

It’s hard to believe Guardiola's questions about the club's mentality in January now, since then they have swatted aside Arsenal, demolished Real Madrid, beat Manchester United and have now edged past Inter. No rivals left. Three months of perfection.

They are the best team in the world.

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More from Simone Inzaghi: "It's normal to have regrets. Losing is the worst thing in sport. At the same time, the players need to be proud of the season and the performance in the final. We played against a great opponent but we clearly didn't deserve to lose.

"I would like to hug every single one of the Inter fans, just like my players. They are fantastic. They are always there for us.

"This is football. It's from these disappointments that you grow. I'm still wondering how it's possible that we didn't score at the end. We clearly deserved more.

"This final could be the fuel to try again next season. The team demonstrated they can play at this level. We had plenty of chances at the end, we deserved more. This was our game plan and we could have done even better."

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Simone Inzaghi spoke Sky Sport after Inter's defeat: "I congratulated the players. They were great, they played a great game. We lost a final that we wanted to win at all costs, but they must be proud.

"I wouldn't trade these players for anyone and today the whole world saw why. We conceded little against a very strong team. We have many regrets, but we must be proud."

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After speaking about the pride he felt in his City players this evening, Pep was asked about when his attention will switch to next season.

"Right now I don't have any energy to think about next season," he told BT Sport. "It's impossible. Most of these guys will go to their national teams now so, FIFA and UEFA, think about it.

"Come on, they've got too many games. They'll have two or three weeks for holidays and have to start again next season. And then we'll push them on (for next season).

"It's too much."

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While a defeat in the Champions League final hurts all players, as an Inter Milan supporter who had a late goal-bound effort blocked by a team-mate, today may sting even worse for Federico Dimarco.

"What remains is just a lot of disappointment, because we played on even terms with City. But it is still only second place and we feel sad to have lost the most important match," said the left wing-back.

"They were built to win the Champions League. We played a very even game with them tonight, but the ball didn’t want to go in. I am proud of this squad, as we gave 120%.

"Considering what we saw this season from Inter in the Champions League, I think it needs to be a starting point and not a finish."

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While undeniably delighted to be a Champions League winner, Kevin De Bruyne was notably more subdued in his reaction than many of his team-mates.

"Yeah," De Bruyne said while shrugging when asked about the team having to do it without him.

"It's been a hard two months for me. I've been struggling with my hamstring. It's snapped, so it is what it is. I did everything I could to be OK.

"I felt really good in the first half an hour, but the team is good enough and I won so it's nice to celebrate.

"It's amazing. We've been working so long for this, making history for the club. We fully deserve it. It wasn't the best game but finals are always difficult."

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This marks the third season in the past five that Manchester City have scored at least 100 more goals than they conceded.

Prior to Pep Guardiola’s arrival in 2016, no English top-flight side had ever achieved that feat even once.

After needing to take a break due to being overwhelmed with emotion, Kyle Walker opened up on what it means to be a Champions League winner.

"I'm very rarely speechless but I'm over the moon. My dream has come true. To achieve a treble, it's unbelievable," said Walker.

"I'm always disappointed when I'm not playing but I'm 33 now and my example sets onto the younger lads. I made a speech before they went out. It's emotional and this club means so much to me.

"I've been here six years now, for it to give me what it's given me, this experience in football, I'll be grateful forever.

"I said: 'My dream's in your hands. We're both here by merit but there has to be a loser. We need to make sure we leave everything on that pitch. We can't work as hard as we have done to throw it away.'

"I can remember when my mum didn't have a pound for the ice cream van, so for her to be experiencing this now, God bless her. I'm just so thankful."

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At times during his Manchester City career, John Stones has been written off. But those doubters disappeared this season as he played a key role in his team's success.

"I feel so pleased and so pleasured, it's a pleasure to be part of this team and create this history to win the treble," said Stones. "I'm so pleased I'm holding words back because I'm on camera, let's put it that way!

"We've set the bar high now, after this season. From where we were in the Premier League to bring it back and win it all, I can't put it into words."

Reflecting on his new role in midfield, he continued: "I played more of a No 8 today which I loved. I don't think I'm the best in there but I gave it my everything and tried to make things better."

John Stones completed all six of his attempted dribbles in the final.

The last player to complete more than that in a Champions League final was Lionel Messi in 2015, who completed 10 against Juventus.

Pretty good company to keep for a defender!

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