Man City win first Champions League title to seal historic treble; WATCH Rodri's match-winning goal vs Inter

Manchester City created history on Saturday night to become the second English club after Manchester United to win the elite treble following their 1-0 victory over Italian giants Inter Milan to lift the UEFA Champions League 2022-23 in Istanbul. With this historic feat, Pep Guardiola's team have become the eight European club to win a continental treble.

Spanish midfielder Rodri broke the deadlock against Inter in the 67th minute of the high-octane clash with a drilling effort from just inside the penalty area, giving Manchester City the much needed goal to secure the historic treble. 

Manager Pep Guardiola has now won 14 major trophies since joining the club in 2016 – a collection comprising five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, one Champions League and two Community Shields – and he becomes the first manager to win two European Trebles (Barcelona 2009 and City 2023).

Captain Ilkay Gundogan, who lifted the trophy in Istanbul, says this victory is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication. 

“This is a really proud moment for everyone at this football club,” he said. “We work so hard every single day, and we have wanted to win this trophy for so long."

“The Champions League is a beautiful competition, and we are all incredibly happy to have won. This team deserves the highest recognition and winning the Champions League elevates us to the very top of the game. And to win the Treble is something amazing. It is the ultimate achievement for any club team, and we have done it. It reflects the quality we have in our squad, but it also shows how dedicated we are," he added.

“I want to thank the Manchester City fans for their support this season. I can honestly say that we could not have done this without them. They have been amazing, and they deserve this moment," Gundogan noted.

City will now begin the 2023/24 season with an opportunity to play in the European Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time, as well having the chance to become the first team in the history of English football to win four league titles in succession.

Also read: Manchester City crowned Champions of Europe: A look at other clubs that have sealed historic treble

Earlier this month, Manchester City lifted the FA Cup 2022-23 after registering a 2-1 victory over Manchester United at the iconic Wembley Stadium. On May 21, Manchester City won the Premier League title for a fifth time in six seasons after Arsenal's defeat at Nottingham Forest left Pep Guardiola's men with an insurmountable four-point lead at the top of the table over the Gunners.

Barcelona and Bayern Munich both won their first trebles this century but each have since gone onto repeat the feat more recently, contributing to the fact that five of the nine clean sweeps across the continent have come since 2009. Prior to that, Sir Alex Ferguson's famous Manchester United side of 1999 had been the only team since Guus Hiddink's PSV some 11 years earlier to have won all three trophies in the same season.

Manchester City fans took to Twitter to celebrate the historic treble after the team beat Inter Milan 1-0 to clinch the UEFA Champions League title in Istanbul. Here's a look at some of the reactions: