Martin Samuel: Night of toil makes Manchester City’s Champions League win all the sweeter
Had Manchester City brushed past Inter Milan, it could have all been put down to oil wells and wealth funds, and argued that Pep Guardiola and his players had it easy, writes MARTIN SAMUEL.
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It was better this way. Had Manchester City simply brushed past Inter Milan on their way to the Treble, it could have all been put down to oil wells and wealth funds, and argued that Pep Guardiola and his players had it easy, that football’s greatest prize came for them on a plate.
But the game’s not like that. Inter were worthy opponents. They made City fight for every last champagne soaked sticky fingerprint they left on the cup; they made them sweat, and not just in the heat of the night. Inter hit the bar and, for long periods, limited the danger of Guardiola’s men. This was not the swaggering City we saw against Real Madrid, not even the City that gave Manchester United such a shock after just 12 seconds at Wembley.
Ederson appeared as nervous as a kitten let loose on an Istanbul highway. Erling Haaland never looked like scoring, drawing a blank for his fifth game in succession. City had to graft, City had to scrap. They won with a goal scored by a defensive midfielder, Rodri, who ran onto the one loose ball that Inter were unable to smother. It was every bit the 1-0 win suggested by the scoreline. As grim and intense as that margin often is – and all the more meaningful for it.
For Manchester City are not performing seals. They are not Meadowlark Lemon and the Globetrotters or Lionel Messi in the MLS. Here was a proper team, in a proper contest, who were made to earn this, just as their fans were made to work to see them, undertaking long, complex journeys from the centre of the city, through heat and pollution, before taking their place at a stadium where one of English football’s miracles took place.
And this wasn’t Istanbul 2005. It wasn’t that hard. But it was tough, it was a genuine final, a genuine test. City didn’t win the Treble the easy way because, let’s face it, who could?
The Treble’s a feat. It’s not just another bauble, another page in the record books. There is a reason it has only been done once before. There is so much to go wrong. And things did go wrong. Kevin De Bruyne got injured, for instance, a hamstring strain in the 30th minute. He was withdrawn trying to fight the inevitable five minutes later.
That could have thrown a lesser team through a loop, mentally as well as tactically. Suppose City fell at the last? Southampton knocked them out of the Carabao Cup this season; a team managed by Nathan Jones. So an upset like that could have happened in any round of the FA Cup, or the Champions League. It could have happened last night (Saturday), for a start.
And there have been many great teams before this, not least those of Liverpool, who came so close. Those near-misses cast light on City’s achievement too. Guardiola has never won this trophy since parting company with Lionel Messi at Barcelona. It’s hard, this. So, so hard. Guardiola has always insisted his team must be prepared to suffer, and that is what they did.
And not just the team, the fans, too. Istanbul is hard, this location is hard. There were Manchester City fans sweltering at the bus stops near the fan zones; Manchester City fans in coaches and taxis snaking through the traffic that cloaks and chokes this megalopolis; Manchester City fans changing metro trains three times because the direct line to the centre won’t be finished until 2024.
Others sat in taxis, bumper to bumper, inching close to their destiny and destination, journeys that were taking anything up to three hours the nearer it got to kick-off. There were tales of groups abandoning four wheels for two legs, jogging down the hard shoulder some five miles from the stadium to get here in time for kick-off.
There was no repeat of last year’s debacle. By kick off there wasn’t a spare seat. Some even followed Uefa instructions to set off in the morning, despite the public gates not opening until 6pm. And there was little of the animosity that often greets Uefa-organised events. This was no time for cynicism. They had come to see their team, their club, ascend to the pantheon of the greats. European champions, Treble winners.
And yet, it was a Champions League final. There are no mugs in Champions League finals. Very soon in the first-half it became clear that Inter Milan were on a different plane to the Italian teams that had reached the other two European finals. They were not relying on Roma’s gruesome spoiling tactics; their possession had more purpose than that of Fiorentina. Inter were a cut above.
Simone Inzaghi has them excellently organised and those expecting a procession were swiftly dissuaded of their presumptions. In the first five minutes, City carved out decent opportunities, but then a blue-black blanket was gently thrown over the game and chances stayed limited.
The sky blue end, so boisterous before kick-end, grew a little subdued. Not quiet – they’ve come too far to be silent witnesses – but pensive, nervous. It wasn’t that they had come here in expectation not hope – City were favourites and it would be silly to pretend otherwise – but they were no doubt expecting a battle of attack versus defence; a repeat of the monstering of Real Madrid in the previous round; and it just wasn’t there.
City toiled, and the more they toiled, the more Inter’s confidence grew. They were not ruining the game, they were just making it tough. Men behind the ball, crowding areas where City like to operate. This was the hardest match of City’s European campaign – exactly as it should be.
The ill fortune around De Bryune seemed to take some of the impetus from City and they did not much threaten for a long period after. It wasn’t just their supporters that were put through an arduous ordeal. The club, the fans, the players, the coach on the touchline: “Relax, relax,” Guardiola implored at one stage – they were all made to suffer and sweat together. And that’s right. That’s exactly as it should be. Not easy. It’s never easy.
Originally published as Martin Samuel: Night of toil makes Manchester City’s Champions League win all the sweeter
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