Rodri was the unlikely hero as Manchester City beat Inter Milan 1-0 to win the Champions League for the very first time and clinch a historic treble.
Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions were far from their fluent best for long periods in the Ataturk Stadium, but they once again found a way to dig out a narrow victory to follow up their FA Cup triumph over Manchester United last weekend and end their long pursuit of Europe’s premier trophy.
The Citizens struggled to impose their usual, dominant game upon the Italians in the first half with Erling Haaland seeing their best effort well blocked by Andre Onana.
Guardiola’s frustration was then compounded when the inspirational Kevin de Bruyne was forced to withdraw from the action for a second successive Champions League final after appearing to injure his hamstring.
The pattern continued following the break but after Lautaro Martinez went close for the Italians, the Citizens broke the deadlock when Rodri guided a sweet strike into the corner on 68 minutes.
Federico Dimarco should have equalised two minutes later for the Nerazzurri but his looping header hit the crossbar with his follow-up inadvertently blocked by his team-mate Romelu Lukaku.
Simone Inzaghi’s men pushed late on but could not find a goal to force extra time with Ederson making a remarkable late save from Lukaku and City held on to lift their first European silverware since 1970.