Istanbul, 11 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Manchester City finally fulfilled their dream and obsession on Saturday when they beat Inter Milan 1-0 for a first Champions League title which also completed a title treble.

Midfielder Rodri fired the winner in the 68th minute at Atatütk Stadium as Pep Guardiola's City overcame a first-half hamstring injury of playmaker Kevin de Bruyne, who did not last the distance like in the 2021 final which City had lost against Chelsea.

The English champions were not glorious, and lucky when Inter's Federico Dimarco headed against the crossbar in the 71st and goalkeeper Ederson saved Romelu Lukaku's late header.

City's success is the 10th treble of domestic league and Cup plus Champions Cup/League overall, and they are only the second English side to achieve it, following crosstown rivals Manchester United who did it in 1999.

"It is like a fairy tale, it can't get any better," City captain Ilkay Gündogan told streaming portal DAZN before receiving the trophy.

"We showed more courage in the second half. We are alert. You can't prevent everything against such a good team but in the end one goal made the difference."

Germany midfielder Gündogan, who is of Turkish descent and had lost the 2013 final with Borussia Dortmund and 2021 final with City, added: "It is a big privilege to be captain of the team, to be part of the team and coached by Pep."

City have played a dominant role in English football after a 2008 takeover by Abu Dhabi Sheik Mansour, who made only his second appearance at a game on Saturday.

They won seven of the last 12 Premier League titles, five of them in the last six years, three FA Cups and six League Cups.

But the main obession has been the Champions League, especially since the arrival of Guardiola in 2016.

After losing two years ago they finally prevailed on Saturday as Guardiola became the sixth man to win the elite event with two different clubs, having previously won it with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011.

Saturday's title is City's second on the continent, following success in the now defunkt Cup Winners' Cup in 1970.

Coppa Italia winners Inter meanwhile missed out on a fourth title in the competition, the last coming in 2010 when they won the treble under Jose Mourinho.

The result also means that Serie A clubs have lost all three continental finals this season, after Roma were beaten by Sevilla in the Europa League and Fiorentina by West Ham United in the Conference League.

Kyle Walker was absent from City's starting 11 as Nathan Ake took his place but Guardiola did not experiment like in 2021 as he fielded effectively the same side that ousted Real Madrid in the semis and beat United in the PA Cup final.

Inter had Lukaku on the bench as coach Simone Inzaghi again preferred former City striker Edin Dzeko alongside Lautaro Martinez.

Bernardo Silva curled just wide past the far left post early on as City put Inter's defence under pressure from the outset.

City got their best chance in the 27th when De Bruyne found star striker Erling Haaland but his shot from a left angle was saved well by Andre Onana.

De Bruyne then only managed a tame shot a minute later before the Belgian had to leave, with Phil Foden taking his place in the 35th.

Lukaku came on for Dzeko 10 minutes after the restart, and Inter almost stole the lead three minutes later when Martinez profited from a huge Akanji blunder but failed to make the most of the gift as Ederson saved his shot from the left.

City stepped up their efforts again and finally broke through in the 68th.

Akanji split Inter's defence with a pass to Silva who laid the ball back for Rodri to smash into the right corner.

Inter however almost levelled three minutes later. Federico Dimarco's looping header hit the crossbar and his effort on the rebound then hit the heel of Lukaku to keep the ball out.

Foden had a huge chance to sooth City's nerves in the 78th but aimed right at Onana after getting around a defender.

As a result, City had to sweat it out as Ederson somehow kept out Lukaku's 89th-minute header from point-blank range, and then also was on his guard against Robin Gosens in stoppage time.

Photo: Twitter