Manchester City win first Champions League title - become second English club to win treble

Manchester City have done it. After many trials and trepidations, the club managed by Pep Guardiola has finally won the Champions League thanks to a 1-0 win over Inter Milan at a fantastic final at a sold Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul. Rodri (68') was the scorer of the goal that made Man City just the second English club to complete the famous treble. The only other club to do it was city rivals Manchester United under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 1999. 

The final win was Guardiola’s 48th win in the Champions League as a Man City manager. Going into the final, Guardiola had a win percentage of 64%, and his points per game average was an impressive 2.09. To put that into perspective, that is only slightly below his Premier League average, which stands at 2.36 points per game. 

Unlike the Premier League, however, Man City have not been able to grind out a title. After all, plenty can happen in a single game. And even in this final, plenty could have gone wrong. Had Romelu Lukaku not been in the way of Federico Dimarco’s header in the 70th minute and then missed a glorious opportunity in the 88th minute, perhaps City would have missed out once again. 

After spending €1.24bn - Man City finally win the Champions League

It would have been the latest disappointment in the Champions League, where Guardiola has struggled to get his club teams to the finish line since leaving Barcelona in 2012. Whether it was Bayern Munich’s golden treble generation or Man City since he took over in 2016. Often times his sides that played some of the most dominant football in Europe failed to get past the second last, or final hurdle.

After all, Guardiola dominated the Premier League at ease after spending €1.24 billion on new players—in comparison only Chelsea, Barcelona, and Juventus have spent in that time frame. Man City are third when it comes to a transfer deficit of €666.69m since Guardiola was appointed in 2016—only Man United (-€903m) and Chelsea (-€805m) have a bigger deficit in that time period.

Those fees do not include salaries. Either way, with those expenditures in mind, it was clear that there was some frustration among Man City supporters that the club could not secure the Champions League title. Those frustrations will have come to an end on Saturday in what was a dramatic and fantastic to watch 1-0 victory over a well-structured Inter Milan side. 

Guardiola crowned - What is next for his Man City squad?

The question is what will be next for Man City. Guardiola remains under contract until 2025. But captain Ilkay Gündogan remains unsigned. Then there is Kevin De Bruyne. The 31-year-old was once again brought off early due to an injury at a Champions League final, evoking pictures of the final two years ago when the midfielder was injured after a collision with Chelsea defender Antonio Rüdiger. De Bruyne, like Guardiola, is under contract until 2025, but after an injury-filled season, how many years does the Belgian star left in the tank? 

Ferguson, the Man United coach that oversaw the last treble won by an English club, was the master of renewing his squad era through era. Without a doubt, Man City have the finances and the squad to turn this Champions League title that feels like the end of a chapter, perhaps even an end of an era, into a new era with many more titles.

That will be Guardiola’s next task in the Champions League, to confirm this success and highlight that Man City can become a club to be mentioned alongside Real Madrid when it comes to being a title contender in Europe’s premium competition. From finally winning the Champions League to setting the foundation for a new era. Stay tuned to find out what this Man City title will mean in the long-run for the club.