Watch: Romelu Lukaku accidentally stops Inter from scoring equaliser in Champions League final, later misses open header

Manchester City beat Inter Milan 1-0 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul to seal their first UEFA Champions League trophy, along with a historic treble. A goal from Spanish midfielder Rodri in the 68th minute was enough for the champions of England, as Pep Guardiola finally got his hands on a much-awaited European trophy, his first since 2009.

However, for the Italian team, the match went by as one full of what-ifs and nearlys. The Inter team had their fair share of chances throughout the match, even outperforming City on statistical fronts such as expected goals. Especially in the second half, chasing a goal, Inter were consistently knocking at the door of an equalizer, but it wasn’t to come as a mixture of misfortune and poor finishing kept them at bay.

Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku was brought on as a second-half substitute, and his introduction spurred life into Inter. The Belgian striker has been a prolific goal scorer throughout his career, and would have been seen as a gamechanger by manager Simone Inzaghi. While his addition to the game did create chances, however, it also lead to some of the more frustrating moments of the game for the Inter faithful.

Having just gone behind to Rodri’s edge-of-the-box curler, Inter looked for a quick response. Chaos in the City box lead to a free header for left-back Roberto Dimarco, whose first looped effort beat City keeper Ederson, but crashed into the bar. The follow-up fell back at the head of Dimarco, who now had an empty goal to aim at.

The second header, destined for the bottom corner, was intercepted by the heel of Dimarco’s own teammate Lukaku. What would have been a timely equalizer was blocked off the line by Inter’s own striker — a moment which was at once comical and heartbreaking for the Inter fans.

Lukaku would go on to have another golden opportunity of his own later in the game, with an unmarked header in the center of the box. Usually the kind of opportunity a striker would feast on, Lukaku’s attempted header was weak and directionless, crashing into Ederson who didn’t know much about it and didn’t have to move. Lukaku should have done better — if the header had gone either side of the Brazilian goalkeeper, an equalizer would have been guaranteed.

City’s singular goal would prove to be enough, but Inter will feel they had their chances to draw level and extend the match, if not outright win it in normal time. Nevertheless, Inter will have to be satisfied with their second place medals, while City will get to enjoy a historic moment for their football club.