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The Man of the Match award for the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday (June 1) was awarded to Manchester City midfielder Rodri. The Spain international netted the only goal of the game as City beat Inter Milan to win their first Champions League.
UEFA's Technical Observer Panel commended Rodri's overall game plan and his presence in midfield, which played a vital role in City's win. The panel was quoted as saying (via UEFA's website):
"He came up with the winning goal in a tight game, and his involvement for City between the boxes was essential to a balanced team."
Rodri's second-half goal saw City win a close-fought encounter against Inter. Bernando Silva's cut-back from the right found the Spain midfielder who side-footed the ball past Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana to score in the 68th minute.
Rodri was also Manchester City's key midfielder. The former Atletico Madrid star completed 61 of 66 attempted passes and had a pass accuracy of 92%. He had 80 touches and made 12 passes to the final third to open up Inter Milan's defence.
Rodri also fulfilled his defensive duties, making three interceptions and recovering the ball nine times. The Man of the Match admitted that he was not at his best in the first half. The 26-year-old, though, sounded pleased with his goal and wants to achieve more with the club (via EuroFoot on Twitter):
"I wasn't good in the first half, I was playing sh*t to be honest … then I scored a goal. Unbelievable. I think we made history, the good thing is we want more."
Manchester City complete historic treble following Champions League triumph
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City become only the second English side to win the treble following their Champions League triumph. Their city-rivals Manchester United are the only other English side to do so (1998-99).
Manchester City secured their first trophy of the season by winning the Premier League, following a close-fought title race with Arsenal. They then beat United in the FA Cup final 2-1 to secure the domestic double before winning the Champions League.
The only trophy City did not win this season was the Carabao Cup. They exited the competition in the quarterfinals, losing 2-0 to Southampton.
