The victory helped them to complete the treble on a Saturday evening of frayed nerves.

Spanish midfielder Rodri’s 68th-minute goal settled a cagey game which a far-from-fluent Manchester City dominated.

This was without them ever looking comfortable against the three-times winners from Italy at the Ataturk Stadium.

Inter Milan almost levelled at the death when a point-blank header by substitute Romelu Lukaku was saved by Ederson.

But Manchester City, who lost in the final match two years ago against Chelsea, would not be denied.

“Emotional. A dream come true. All these guys around here waited I don’t know how many years. They deserve, we deserve,” Rodri said.

In being crowned champions of Europe, they matched the treble achieved by Manchester United in 1999 of lifting the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League crowns.

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has now won the UEFA Champions League three times and took his trophy count with the club to 12.

It was far from a fluent Manchester City performance, however, against a tireless Inter Milan side who looked capable of causing a shock.

Manchester City were stifled in the first half and their fans were reduced to near silence at times as the nerves became frayed.

With Kevin de Bruyne off injured, Manchester City struggled to create chances and were wobbly at the back.

But in the end the ever-reliable Rodri came to the rescue.

For once Inter Milan could not close down the spaces and Bernardo Silva’s cutback was swept home by the Spaniard.

Even then, Manchester City were forced to go to the wire at the end of a long season with Lautaro Martinez hitting the bar for Inter Milan.

Lukaku was also denied by a superb Ederson save at the death.

Guardiola has now finally guided Manchester City to the European crown they so cherished after a few gut-wrenching near misses since Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008.

He became the first manager to achieve two trebles in European football, having done the Spanish equivalent with FC Barcelona in 2009.

He has won 12 trophies with Manchester City since taking charge in 2016.

Now, with the UEFA Champions League jinx broken, any sense of inferiority Manchester City may have suffered to the established European royalty of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Liverpool has gone.

Manchester City still must defend themselves against more than 100 alleged breaches of English Premier League financial regulations dating back to 2009.

But that is for another day.

On Saturday alongside the Bosphorous, that was the last thing Manchester City’s joyous fans cared about.

They celebrated the club’s first European trophy since the now defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1969/1970.

Guardiola’s side fluffed their lines in Porto two years ago when losing to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final — a defeat partially blamed on Guardiola’s tactics.

This time he and his players delivered, although it was far from straightforward against the wily Italian side.

Source: Reuters/NAN

The post Manchester City beat Inter Milan to complete season treble appeared first on Frontpageng.

The win puts Manchester City in a commanding position to retain the Premier League with two games remaining.

The Belgian put the game to bed with a hat-trick in a devastating 18-minute spell in the first half, before notching a fourth after the break as the away fans alternated between chanting “Kevin De Bruyne” and “Champions of England”.

The win leaves Pep Guardiola’s side top on 89 points, three ahead of Liverpool whom they also lead on goal difference, with the title now firmly in their sights.

A second consecutive Premier League title would assuage disappointment at their Champions League exit, after City fell in the semis and Liverpool reached the final.

At Molineux, De Bruyne scored the third earliest hat-trick in Premier League history with a sumptuously-placed finish in the seventh minute, a clever follow-up to a rebound in the 16th, and a curler from the edge of the box in the 24th.

Wolves had briefly threatened an upset, when Leander Dendoncker made it 1-1 after a great break, before the De Bruyne show rolled on.

He scored a fourth from close range in the 60th minute, before team mate Raheem Sterling completed another easy win for City with his 84th-minute goal.

Wolves stayed in eighth position on 50 points.

Source: Reuters/NAN

The post Dazzling De Bruyne propels Man City closer to Premier League title appeared first on Frontpageng.

Manchester United had won their previous three games at the Etihad Stadium in all competitions.

But, without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, they were behind inside five minutes to a close-range De Bruyne strike.

After Jadon Sancho temporarily levelled up against his former club, De Bruyne struck a second to put Manchester City back in front before half-time.

The Belgian then teed up Mahrez for a superb Manchester City third in the second half.

Manchester United were previously unbeaten in 11 games in normal time in all competitions but conceded a fourth when Mahrez doubled his tally late on.

It helped to see Manchester City give themselves some breathing space at the top, albeit with Liverpool holding a game in hand.

The Reds still have to travel to the Etihad next month.

De Bruyne was left in plenty of space to drill Bernardo Silva’s low pass away from David de Gea early on.

The Belgium international was registering his 50th goal in the competition.

Manchester United otherwise made a positive start, in spite of also being without Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw and Edinson Cavani, and they were level with 22 minutes played.

Sancho was played into space by Paul Pogba and cut inside before sending a delightful curled finish past Ederson from the edge of the penalty box.

Manchester City restored their lead just six minutes later through De Bruyne.

He blasted in after Phil Foden’s initial shot was well saved by De Gea and not dealt with by Manchester United’s defenders.

De Bruyne was again involved when picking out Mahrez from a corner-kick to volley in a third goal for Manchester City.

The Algeria international rounded off the scoring in the 90th minute with another crisp finish after VAR judged Alex Telles had played him onside.

Source: dpa/NAN

The post De Bruyne, Mahrez hit doubles as Manchester City beat derby rivals United appeared first on Frontpageng.