Manchester City vs. Inter score: Rodri goal clinches UEFA Champions League title and historic treble

Manchester City vs. Inter: Champions League final live score, updates as a European champion will be crowned

By Chuck Booth

Jun 10, 2023 • 1 min read

The wait is over as Manchester City have won their first Champions League title, defeating Inter 1-0 behind a second-half goal from Rodri. Pep Guardiola's side had to persevere in the match as Kevin de Bruyne suffered an injury in the first half and was replaced by Phil Foden, but they did just enough to ensure that Inter didn't get back into the match. While it took some good fortune for Rodri to score his goal following the ball popping out to the edge of Inter's box, that should take nothing away from his excellent finish under pressure.

This is now Guardiola's first Champions League title since 2011 with Barcelona as his City side compete a treble winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. Guardiola also became the first manager to win a European teble with two different teams also completing the feat with Barcelona. Inter had their chances and did a good job defending Erling Haaland but thanks to Ederson in net, it wasn't something that the club had to worry about to pull out the victory.

Let's take a look at how it happened. Here are the biggest moments:

1. Kevin de Bruyne goes down

It was a heart in mouth moment when de Bruyne was withdrawn in the 36th minute. He received treatment after seeming to pull something, but couldn't continue and was replaced by Phil Foden. In a move that felt like a changing of the guard in a way, due to Foden being only 23. It took time for him to find the game, but in the second half, he was able to get into the flow of things as City not only went ahead but also completed their treble. Adding to his ever growing list of honors, Foden is now a European Champion.

For de Bruyne, it's the second Champions League final that he has been injured during and these are beginning to feel unfortunate. One of the best midfielders in the world, he also didn't complete the 2021 Champions League final which he left in the 60th minute. That one, City lost but it can become a distant memory after getting the job done.

2. Emotion all around

City may have emerged with the victory, but it wasn't an easy one for them as the emotion even got to Guardiola. After entering the half level, a bad mistake almost gifted Inter a goal. Manuel Akanji made a lazy back pass to Ederson that was intercepted by Lautaro Martinez, the Inter striker drove his shot right into Ederson but Guardiola sank to his knees thinking that it was a go ahead goal for the opposition. If Martinez squares the ball elsewhere, it could've been a different match.

3. Rodri does it again

City needed some help to get their goal with Bernardo Silva trying to curl the ball into the box but instead seeing it cleared to the edge with no Inter players in sight to clear it. Always where he needs to be, Rodri was able to run onto the ball firing a shot past Andre Onana in net. It's something that seems effortless for Rodri but make no mistake, it wasn't a simple finish he's just a different level of midfielder.

From protecting City's defense to keeping play ticking over in the middle, Rodri's play is a lullaby that keeps defenders from playing him tightly before he unleashes shots that can put City ahead. This is just the latest in a series of big goals for him.

4. Inter had their chances

While City were expected to walk the final, that wasn't the case as Inter had some of the better chances of the game in reality. After Romelu Lukaku entered, attacking lanes opened in the match but Inter already had one of the weirder attacking sequences that you'll see in soccer. Federico Dimarco heads his chance onto the bar, but it rebounded back to the left back. When he went to head it again, it then went into Lukaku's back before it was eventually cleared.

On another day, this ball is in the back of the net but the missed chance isn't one that's on Lukaku, who has been one of Inter's most effective players as of late. Sometimes, things don't go your way and this was one of them.

5. Ederson stands tall

While passing, again, almost cost City the match, late in the game Ederson was immense as Inter went for an equalizer. Challenged in the 88th minute, it was again a moment for Lukaku as Robin Gosens played the Belgian in at close range but Ederson's quick reflexes were on display to secure the victory. Ruben Dias also came up with quite the clearance to make sure that the chance didn't rebound back to an Inter player securing the treble-winning victory.

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Live updates

Simone Inzaghi was a manager on the outs, now he's in the Champions League final

Francesco Porzio has more on Inter's incredible run.

Inter will face Manchester City on Saturday (3 p.m. ET on Paramount+) in pursuit of their fourth Champions League title after winning in 1964, 1965 and the last one in 2010 when Jose Mourinho was in charge of the Italian side. That season they won the treble, becoming the first and still only Italian club ever to win all the three major competitions in the same year. Thirteen years later, Inter are back in the final and, despite being huge underdogs, can dream of something that was totally unexpected at the beginning of the season, when the team coached by Simone Inzaghi ended up in the same group stage as Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona. How did Inter get to Istanbul?

What to know about the ref

Szymon Marciniak is a well-known official and widely regarded as one of the better referees of his generation. He has made a ton of noise lately, but it hasn't always been for the greatest of reasons. He officiated the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France where he awarded three penalty kicks in the match as the South Americans, led by Lionel Messi, won the title in penalties over Kylian Mbappe and company.

He averages about 3.86 yellow cards per game and 0.29 red cards per game in this edition of the UCL.

Ahead of the final, he found himself in hot water after appearing at an event organized by far-right Polish politician Slawomir Mentzen and apologized, stating he had not known about the event's affiliation.

UCL final record

City
Record: 0-1
Last appearance: Chelsea 1, City 0 (2021)

Inter
Record: 3-2
Last appearance: Inter 2, Bayern Munich 0 (2010)

Time to sit and learn

City will win if they keep things simple

Check out more keys that can define this match.

Generally, the only team that can beat Manchester City is themselves which is why Guardiaola's lineup decisions are always under a microscope. City has the best collection of talent in the world but if they're put in unfamiliar spots in a game of this magnitude, there's always a chance that the team can overthink things and make a critical mistake. If Nathan Ake is healthy, Guardiola's lineup can be written in Sharpie as: Ederson, Ake, Dias, Akanji, Stones, Rodri, Gundogan, de Bruyne, Grealish, Silva, Haaland.

That's the lineup that got the team here and it's the same one that can also get them over the line for the Champions League trophy. There are so many options of ways that City can set up to defeat a team when they come out like this and despite Inter being soundly setup, they'd get pulled apart if City are at their best.

Inter can win the game if they control the midfield

City are a team that can stop you no matter what you try to do, so the best way to slow them down is by matching up in midfield. Inter are a team that can do that due to their balanced midfield and organized defense. Being able to slot in Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, and Hakan Calhanoglu, Inzaghi has quite a crew of midfielders, and it's one that will only get deeper if Henrikh Mkhitaryan is available for the match.

Each midfielder brings different skills to the table but they're also not afraid to play defense and sacrifice attacking numbers for the sake of the team. Things like this are critical to slow down City's attack as Guardiola has a midfielder for every situation and there's no way to truly stop them all. If a team is focusing on Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan is here to score a brace and Rodri can hit rockets from outside the box if he's forgotten about and that's why awareness is key. Being smart with possession and also pressing when needed, is where the game will be won or lost.

CBS Sports studio analyst Thierry Henry sat down with Pep Guardiola

They had a wide ranging chat about the match but one thing that they covered was Erling Haaland's transformation. Henry mentioned how Haaland's movement has been different as of late to create overloads in the midfield which Guardiola dug into:

"When we talk about the team, we didn't take a look to him," Guardiola said "We didn't take a look. We saw a lot of clips, I remember before the Bournemouth game and I said, look, look at that action. We make a pose and Erling is alone. Maybe it's because we come from a false nine many times we'll just take a look left and right and you don't look here. So we have a machine that like you put is unstoppable but you have to look at them."

Inter team news

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is fighting to be fit but should be ready to feature in some way while Joaquin Correa is also winning his battle. Lautaro Martinez and Edin Dzeko could continue as Inzaghi's preferred starting pair with Romelu Lukaku coming in from the bench in what is likely to be his final outing. Mkhitaryan could come in for Marcelo Brozovic if deemed fit to start. Federico Dimarco has been looked after with this game in mind while Alessandro Bastoni, Matteo Darmian, and Francesco Acerbi should occupy the roles in front of Andre Onana once more -- another clean sheet would equal Edouard Mendy's 2020-21 record of nine.

City team news

Kyle Walker seems to be fit enough for this one so that will have reassured Guardiola and his medical staff. The starting XI should be as expected given its consistency this season although there is no certainty that Ilkay Gundogan will stay on after the final so this could be his swansong 10 years on from his 2013 defeat with Borussia Dortmund. Erling Haaland is still chasing his 13th goal of this edition which would better Ruud van Nistelrooy's most UCL goals in a single season for an English club.

Time flies

How they got here

City: Guardiola's side topped Group G by five points ahead of Borussia Dortmund with four wins from six games. RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich were disposed of in the round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively before defending champions Real Madrid were also seen off the in semifinals to set up this final clash.

Inter: Inzaghi's men were second behind Bayern in Group C by eight points but three better than Barcelona. Inter edged out Porto in the round of 16 before coming out on top of an eight-goal quarterfinal with Benfica. Bitter rivals Milan were blown away in the semifinals to book this date with City.

Before we get ready for the game, let's look back a little

James Benge took a look at picking a team of the tournament so far and while of course, Erling Haaland leads his line, he's joined by Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid. Here's what James had to say about the dynamic Brazilillian:

Haaland is one lock in the front three. The other is, of course, Vinicius Junior. No one in this season's Champions League got the ball into dangerous positions more frequently than the Brazilian, who over the last two years has proven he can not just get Real Madrid into the penalty area and the final third but deliver the killer blow too. As Karim Benzema eased off after his unimaginable brilliance in 2021-22, the 22-year-old pushed on. No one received more progressive passes, no one made more progressive carries, no one brought the ball into the penalty area more frequently. Then there were the goals, that thunderbolt against Manchester City and the first in the comeback against Liverpool that, whisper it, was vastly superior.

How to watch and odds

Date: Saturday, June 10 | Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Ataturk Olympic Stadium -- Istanbul, Turkey
TV: CBS | Live stream: Paramount+
Odds: City -225; Draw: +360; Inter +600 (via Caesars Sportsbook)

Hello and welcome

Today is the day where a European champion is crowned and while the expectation is for Manchester City to secure a victory, Inter can't be counted out as they've been able to get past obstacles in their way so far. I'm Chuck Booth and I'll be breaking down everything around the game, from prior to the first kick until after the trophy celebration. Strap in for what will be a fun day.

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