Manchester City – Internazionale: The Culmination Of Inevitable Glory (1-0)
At last, Manchester City has its hands on the one competition that eluded them. Pep Guardiola still gambled in the process, against a unorthodox Internazionale team that created a difficult game. Eventually, the solution was found.
Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker.
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A Champions League trophy puts your name down for eternity, but it’s the treble that makes your team immortal amongst men.
Manchester City had one last hurdle to face to achieve both for the first time, after a ruthless pursuit. Since Inter achieved such a fate thirteen years ago, Sheikh Mansour has inflicted hard power to change the fabric of football. Pep Guardiola already has a treble to his name, but achieving such a fate at Man City would feel different to his accomplishment at Barcelona. From a team that had nurtured through La Masia, this is a super team built for him and performing at its brutalist best.
Though being three-time winners of the competition, Inter went into this game as the underdog. Simone Inzaghi and his men started the season in inconsistent fashion, a team that conceded late goals and Inzaghi’s decision-making from the touchline not helping matters in-game. The defense had gained stability in the competition: five clean sheets in six knockout games and with a team that could still inflict damage on their opponent in several ways. There was no chance that Inter were going to make it an easy ride.
The big change from the City camp would come in its backline, as Kyle Walker was replaced by Nathan Aké. This would see Manuel Akanji move to the right side of the back three, and a potential return of the rugby-esque patterns that Pep has developed. Ederson was the other returnee, as Guardiola stuck to his 3-2-4-1 game plan, without the wild tactical curveballs he throws into the big games (or so we thought.)
Inter were also as we expected. Edin Džeko started ahead of Romelu Lukaku, next to Lautaro Martínez in the strike partnership. Marcelo Brozović started in the center of the midfield three and André Onana, the usual cup goalkeeper, was back between the posts.
Pep moves John Stones higher
Who would have a box when a diamond is so much more valuable? Well not entirely in a football sense. The first buildup phases in City possession revealed that Pep had indeed thrown a wild tactical curveball into the biggest game of the season. With Stones higher up as a right center-midfielder, City was established more in a 3-1-3-3/3-1-5-1 arrangement, with Rodri holding things down in the defensive midfield role and not dropping in between the center-backs.
The reason for this tweak can be seen in the way Inter operated off the ball. Inzaghi’s team bounced between a 5-3-2 and 5-2-2-1 out-of-possession shape. If Nicolò Barella stepped up, Džeko would slightly drop to provide better coverage of City’s back three. If Inter matched and City passed backwards, the narrow chain would squeeze up the field and coverage of the City eights would come from the wide center-backs moving out of the defensive line, or in Stones’ case, Hakan Çalhanoğlu could also peel off and occupy his movement.
7th minute: Part of the aim in City’s diamond shape. As they pulled the Inter midfield apart, space opened for a line-breaking pass straight to Gündoğan. Despite this connection, Brozović recovered to stop the attack from moving further.
In theory, this would give City a numerical advantage. When Barella pressed towards Aké, a three-versus-two overload could appear against the Inter midfield line. If Barella remained, this meant that Stones and De Bruyne could stretch their opponents out or quickly receive in a position where their wide center-backs had to press and Erling Haaland could slip in behind, with a spare man too.
We saw glimpses of this approach work, especially when Marcelo Brozović followed Rodri further down the field and De Bruyne’s wide-left positioning stretched Inter even more. City even went longer on the occasion to connect Haaland and Jack Grealish making a run in the space between Denzel Dumfries and Francesco Acerbi.
However, we have already seen the problem with a Man City diamond at this stage before, not so much the connections between the wide center-midfielders, but problems with the striker and ten not being engaged with the action. Inter doubled up on Haaland when City circulated, often with Acerbi and Bastoni on the Norweigen and Bastoni only moving ahead if Darmian was in a position to cover. As a result, Inter’s defensive shifting on this side was effective at suppressing the space.
Furthermore, City’s distribution of the ball was not as exciting as it has been. Rodri nor Stones were dropping into the defensive line, to give Akanji or Aké wider access, therefore a lack of flexibility led to some rigid buildup moves. Space would open on the far side for the eight or winger to receive, but City did not switch quickly enough and against Inter’s flat back five, this also meant that the Inter wing-back could encroach on the winger quicker too. A timid start for City on the ball.
De Bruyne injured after City built steam
After twenty minutes, Stones started to appear higher and wider as Bernardo Silva connected from deeper. De Bruyne started to move into central-right spaces and City could finally thread the classic passing move of their campaign to open Inter space behind Darmian. Gündoğan stepped inside from Barella’s blindside, to receive Rodri’s line-breaking pass. A wall pass to De Bruyne enabled the Belgian to face play and with Darmian and Acerbi engaged, Haaland ran vertically from right to left, to get entry into the box. Bastoni did enough to disrupt his balance and his close shot ended straight at Onana, the first major attempt in the game.
26th minute: Buildup to Haaland chance. Classic City pattern where one eight shifts to create the passing angle and enable the other to receive facing play. Haaland aggressively runs in the center-backs’ blindside and front of Bastoni.
This moment highlighted a change of momentum in the match, City got the ball higher up the field and a distanced effort from De Bruyne shortly followed. The disruption that City caused in their press would also come into play to sustain the momentum. City pressed in their usual 4-4-2/4-2-4 structure, with Bernardo Silva moving out of the right winger spot to press Onana or the left-sided center-back and forcing Inter inwards.
Inter evaded being captured in dangerous areas by lofting the ball over to the wing-backs. Brozović may have dropped into good areas around Acerbi, who moved ahead of the ball as the wide center-backs split around the keeper, but this didn’t change City from controlling the game when Inter tried to build.
An uncomfortable pass across the goal from Bastoni to Darmian saw City smell blood. Grealish also pressed and Gündoğan intercepted a lackluster pass towards Barella. Grealish tried to find Silva on the opposite wing, left completely free as Bastoni was engaged with Haaland’s near post charge and Federico Dimarco was in no position to recover from his high position in the buildup, but the attempted pass went straight to Onana.
28th minute: City’s 4-2-4 high press in action. Silva curved his run, off the right and into the box as Haaland and De Bruyne held their positions on the situational double pivot. A loose ball across triggered Grealish to also step up and the attempted ball was mopped up by Gündoğan.
However, shortly after this exchange, De Bruyne went off for treatment with his hamstring, before being substituted by Phil Foden a few minutes later. With another injury to the Belgian in the Champions League final, surely the eerie presence of 2021 would start to creep back. Inter finished the half with passing phases of their own, which was hugely reliant on Brozović moving laterally and Barella moving vertically to build connections.
The box versus Inter counterpressure
The start of the second period saw a little more urgency from both teams. Carries started to come more into effect as spaces arose, but the trajectory of the game remained the same as City quietly controlled proceedings.
However, what started to happen was more box-like behaviours from the City center. Rodri was more attached to the backline as both Aké and Akanji held the ball higher. Stones was also much more flexible in his movements, at times holding his high right position, inside of Silva or outside to allow the Portuguese to rotate, or dropping next to Rodri to give Akanji a better route as Martínez dropped to the left of Çalhanoğlu.
Inter were forced into a change just before the hour mark, but it was the substitution we all expected. Džeko was replaced by Romelu Lukaku, the man who had hit good form in Serie A towards the end of the campaign. City had looked composed on the ball to this point, but there was one phase that could have had disastrous results. Inter counterpressed as City moved the ball backwards, man-marking in the 5-3-2 formation that left City’s far-sided center-back free. Miscommunication from Akanji and Ederson gave Martínez the ball in the box but at an acute angle. Lukaku would charge towards the goal, between Rúben Dias and the recovering Rodri, but Martínez was unable to get the ball past the goalkeeper.
57th minute: Counterpress by Inter on the left side. Bastoni followed Foden dropping, Çalhanoğlu laterally covered Stones’ movement whilst Brozović aggressively stepped up on Rodri. A narrow counterpressing scheme, which followed City backwards but struggled to suppress them.
The Inter counterpress was good at following City up the pitch, but without the consistent commitment of wing-backs and the opposite flank being left free for City to hold the ball, turning this into a consistent attacking threat was not a possibility. However, Inter could reset into their passive block more quickly.
After Lukaku’s appearance, Inter started to get more transitional opportunities with Brozović and Barella lurking around second balls and Dumfries overlapping to join the attack. But Inter should have threatened more than they did in these periods, without being able to settle on the ball, executing such moves became more of a difficulty. Deep runs from the midfielders appropriately supported the attack, but finding a route back out to the wing-backs in the second phase would have been more beneficial as opposed to shooting from the edge of the area.
These moments came in between long spells of City holding the ball, higher than what they were capable of earlier in the game. City wasn’t shooting, they hadn’t had an open play shot in the second half, but with twenty-two minutes left, Rodri sent City into raptures. Gündoğan tussled to get the ball off Darmian after a high City ball was knocked down. He and Foden reset the attack, and with the Inter midfield bunched towards the right, Akanji was charged and ready to receive. He drove the ball towards the edge of the box, slipping Silva through with an excellent pass. Inter collapsed towards the goal, perfect for a cutback and Rodri was the man to bend the ball into the corner.
Golden Inter chances
It was difficult to see where the productivity was going to come from, especially from Inter’s bench. Yet they found a way to knock at the door as City started to shut the game down. Moments after City had taken the lead, Inter attempted a few weak deliveries into the box from the left side. As Çalhanoğlu tried to flick the ball into the box, his header went right as Dumfries rose highest. This created an incredible chance as the ball bounced for Dimarco, poised on the six-yard line, his header dipped onto the crossbar. He would have another bite of the cherry, but in his way was Lukaku who had attempted to get onto the second attempt on his own.
Inter started to work the ball towards the box in a much better fashion as players rotated from deep to join Lukaku and Martínez in the move, something that Bastoni, Dimarco and Çalhanoğlu all took part in. An incredible turn from Foden nearly changed all that, as he let the ball run through and a slight touch took him past Dimarco. He burst through between Raoul Bellanova and Acerbi, but his shot was saved.
Inzaghi’s team pressured, but not enough to pin City back for sustainable periods. Ultimately, it was their execution on crosses that let them down, especially coming from the left side. Minutes before the ninety were up, a Brozović cross was knocked back across the goal from Robin Gosens. Lukaku directed it, but Ederson’s foot and incredibly quick reactions from Dias saw his attempt saved and cleared. Inter pressure was not enough, as City captured their first-ever Champions League crown.
Takeaways
A game that proves that football is a clash of styles. For seventy minutes, City and Inter were toe-to-toe. Guardiola’s gamble worked and didn’t work, whereas Inter were successful and unsuccessful off the ball. It was a strange game state where neither attack was producing enough, then Rodri struck from a range he is familiar with, and then Inter missed two top chances to take the game further. The types of game that only a Champions League final could produce, even teams that possess the technical armoury that City posses still has to dig for victory.
It’s the same grit that Guardiola has always had. For fifteen years, City has been built to reach this climax. They get there with the best coach on the planet, with the most flexible and physical team and with two other domestic trophies already perched in the cabinet, from this season’s successes alone. In this current state, it’s hard to see an alternative image on top of the football pyramid.
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