Manchester City already has the first Champions League in its history and, with the permission of Pep Guardiola, it is thanks to Rodrigo Hernández (26 years old), author of the only goal in the final against Inter Milan. The Spaniard was self-critical of his performance in the first half, in his opinion “horrible”, but in the second half he pierced the Nerazzurri goal with a powerful and placed shot.
“I don’t believe it, it’s impressive, the way the game went. In the first part I was horrible, inappropriate for me. Pep (Guardiola) encouraged me at half-time, I had to change my mentality, he told me that I’m a leader,” the visibly moved midfielder told the Movistar microphone.
However, after the restart, specifically in the 68th minute, he reached the great moment for the cityzens and the climax of Rodrigo’s career. “God has given me this moment,” said the former Villarreal and Atlético player, who recalled the moments before he hit the ball: “I wanted to hit it hard, but in the end I said ‘you’re going to have one, put it down,'” he said.
Inter did not sink with the Spaniard’s goal just over 20 minutes from time and closed Ederson’s goal on several occasions, especially in an opportunity in the 88th minute that Lukaku wasted with a header to the goalkeeper’s body. “We have fought until the end and I was already very dead. If they tied us, I didn’t know if we could have,” Rodrigo acknowledged.
“My dream was to play at the highest level, but I never thought of playing in a Champions League final and scoring. That shows that any normal kid like me can get there,” said the man born in Madrid and formed between the Atlético de Madrid youth system and the Villarreal, the team with which he debuted in the First Division in 2016.
“Let’s see if he doesn’t have to pay for a dinner,” Rúben Dias said jokingly about the Spaniard. The Portuguese central defender indicated that “it is a special feeling” to win the Champions League, especially after the defeat in the 2021 final against Chelsea. “All the people wanted to give us favoritism, but a final is always difficult,” he concluded about the problems that Inter presented.
“It’s an incredible night. We are very happy, it is difficult to put words to this. Today we have made history,” explained Ilkay Gundogan on BT Sport. “We knew that everyone was going to talk about the treble and the pressure was there, but this team is made to handle that pressure and that’s what we did tonight,” concluded the captain of the team, whose contract expires on June 30. and it is on Barça’s agenda.
Beyond Rodrigo, the other big winner in the final was the coach Pep Guardiola. “He’s a genius. I’ve gone to talk to him and thank him, because he has put a lot of faith in me, paying many millions two years ago and last year I played like shit, but he kept trusting me,” said Jack Grealish about Catalan.
“I am so happy for Rodrigo, for Pep, the best coach in the world,” added Erling Haaland, the team’s other great star, signed last summer. “It’s an amazing feeling. Now to celebrate,” said the Norwegian about the title despite not seeing a goal in the match held in Istanbul.
