The contradictions of Guardiola's success in Istanbul: from Haaland's blackout to Ederson's exhibition
If the Champions League final won by Manchester City in Istanbul was useful for anything, it was to confirm that football is on one path, and analysts on another. This sport is so complex that, of all the situations foreseen, only one was met, perhaps the main one. The great favorite won and Pep Guardiola finally lifted that third European Cup that links him to his past at Barcelona. But neither Inter was a troupe -no matter how much they finished third in Serie A, 18 points behind champions Napoli-, nor was Simone Inzaghi tactically inferior to the Santpedor coach -the Nerazzurri coach managed to get his players to prevail in almost every corner , except in the rival area-, nor were the heroes as expected. Rodri, despite his horrible first half, and the goalkeeper Ederson, contradictory even in greatness, took the main role that brilliant stars such as Haaland, De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva should have. There is no genius who can fully decipher this sport.
Guardiola, superstitious like few others despite the fact that he maintains that he is not, repeated that black outfit with which he prepared to lead the delegation that was going to make contact with the recently won Champions. Behind him, coincidentally or not, were the two players whom the City coach will forever thank for their role in the immensity of the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.. Ederson reached for the glass and clung to the metal.. The seconds seemed like hours. Right after, Rodri, with the face of having lived the best sporting moment of his life, also placed his lips on the trophy. A few meters away, and before the lost gaze of the destroyed Inter players, Haaland drew a strange smile. He had already shed a few tears after the match was over, but he may not remember his first grand final because of what he did on the field. Alexander Ceferin, president of UEFA, had fun with the burly Norwegian striker and spent a long time talking to him at the awards ceremony, with the palms of his hands resting on those shoulders that never end. It was the gesture of congratulations, but also of consolation.
Haaland shot only once on goal in the entire match. The first part was mediated, and thanks to an inside pass provided by De Bruyne a few minutes before the Belgian was injured. The battering ram, heeled, finished off the position defended by Onana with force. There were no more options for the former Dortmund forward, who had woken up at night with a high hammer that the referee had annulled for offside.
Guardiola, before the final, had faced a journalist who had dared to insinuate a sudden blackout by Haaland at the decisive moment of the season. The City coach invited the informant to review the statistics of a striker who has scored 52 goals in 53 games in his first season as a citizen, including the 36 goals in 35 Premier League games that have awarded him the Golden Boot. So much had been written two years ago in the final lost by City against Chelsea in Porto about the absence of a benchmark scorer that Haaland's presence in Istanbul invited us to think of another scenario.. But if Guardiola's team demonstrated anything, it is that, above any chrome, its great strength lies in the footballers who help the gear work.
Haaland has closed the course scoring a goal in his last eight games. He did not score a goal in the two semifinal games against Real Madrid, nor in the FA Cup final that City beat Manchester United at Wembley, nor in the Champions League final against Inter, where he barely touched the ball. Contacted leather only 19 times in 90 minutes. There was no way for the midfielders to find a gap through which to get the ball to their striker, embedded between the three central defenders and without any space through which to squeeze his power in the race.
Paradigmatic was also De Bruyne's game, who has not been able to finish any of the two Champions League finals played. In Porto, Rüdiger took him ahead, and in Istanbul it was his own muscles, always delicate, that kept him from the duel. And De Bruyne, an excellent performance this season and a fetish footballer for Guardiola, could not breathe until he finally saw himself winning, even without having been able to do much more than a pass not taken advantage of by Haaland and a shot from the front stopped by Onana. De Bruyne shed as many tears as he had left with his daughters on the Turkish lawn.
Ederson saves under the sticks in the final. . STAVRAKES AP
A much more pleasant celebration was held by Ederson, who stepped on the confetti as if levitating. He felt in seventh heaven. He had reasons to look up after what happened before emulating Courtois in Paris. In the first half, the Brazilian goalkeeper, faced with the impossibility of finding teammates who were free from the Nerazzurri straps, offered a couple of passes that almost cost a lot of trouble. Especially one to which Barella gave continuity, who did not hit the ball well. More dramatic was the episode that could have marked the fate of the final, and also that of Lautaro Martínez's career. Ederson and Akanji did not clear up. Guardiola, desperate, fell to the ground. The City center-back, who would later be decisive in Rodri's goal, had stopped running backwards thinking that his teammate would go for the ball. But Ederson was stuck. And Lautaro, mute. The world champion with Argentina, who was reaching the final at the best moment of his career, shot at the bulge to the glory of Ederson, who would end up settling the final with five saves. And where his hands did not arrive -he saved the tie in the 96th minute after Gosens's header-, the crossbar and Lukaku did, obstinate in continuing his torment.
Guardiola, the Spanish coach with the most European titles, has not only surrounded himself with people who take care of both his emotional needs -Manel Estiarte and Joan Patsy, who even accompanied him on the bus this time-, as well as his work needs -Ferran Soriano , Txiki Begiristain or the guru of physical preparation, Lorenzo Buenaventura. He also knows that he can count on a team where anyone can reign for a day.