"It's an honour" - Pep Guardiola hails Sir Alex Ferguson after receiving a supportive message from him before Manchester City's UCL final
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola hailed Sir Alex Ferguson after the legendary Manchester United manager sent him a supportive message before the UEFA Champions League final.
The Cityzens edged out Inter Milan 1-0 last night (June 10) at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium to complete a historic treble and win the UCL for the first time in their history. Pep Guardiola equaled Sir Alex Ferguson's achievement by doing so after the latter won the treble in the 1998-99 season.
It was a closely contested affair with both teams defending well to keep the scores level until the 68th minute. Rodri broke the deadlock with a brilliant strike into the bottom right corner. Inter Milan went close at the end but Ederson produced a pair of stellar saves to ensure Manchester City came out on top.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Guardiola revealed that he got a message from Ferguson yesterday morning:
"Winning the treble is so difficult. It is an honour to sit alongside Sir Alex Ferguson – I got a message in my phone this morning from him that touched me. Maybe we can build a museum for all the trophies.”
He added:
"This trophy is so difficult to win. This competition is a (toss of a) coin. But now it belongs to us. We knew it would be hard and we were anxious in the first half. It was a question of being patient - and we also had to be lucky with Ederson at the end."
The Sky Blues won the Premier League and FA Cup earlier in the season as well to complete the treble.
Rodri pays homage to Manchester City legends after securing his side the UCL title
Manchester City star Rodri paid homage to the likes of Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, and David Silva after he scored the winner against Inter Milan yesterday.
Apart from his brilliant strike in the second half, the Manchester City midfielder also had an excellent game in the middle of the park. He made nine recoveries, three interceptions, completed 100% of his long balls, and had a pass accuracy of 92%.
Rodri spoke to BT Sport after the win and gave his thoughts on the game (via Daily Mirror):
"My first half performance wasn't good enough - I was playing s**t. I am emotional. It’s a dream come true. All these fans have waited I don't know how many years. They deserve it, we deserve it."
He added:
"It was so hard, but finals are like this. You can't expect to play well as always. Emotions and nerves are there. We competed like animals and we want more. All of those players who made the club big, like [Sergio] Aguero, [David] Silva and [Vincent] Kompany, this one is for them."
Rodri was named man-of-the-match for his efforts last night against Inter Milan.