Man City Champions League Titles
Of everything covered so far, the Champions League is the one that took Manchester City the longest to crack. Their first attempt, back in 1968, when it was the European Cup, ended almost immediately and it would be 43 years before the club returned to the competition at all. Even then, the trophy did not arrive until 2023, preceded by one lost final and a semi-final collapse still talked about by those who like to denigrate City’s achievements in the post-Abu Dhabi Group era.
That single win, though, came with substance behind it, given the fact that it was the final piece of a treble, delivered in Istanbul against a backdrop of near misses that had started to look like inherent failure rather than bad luck.
Last Champions League Win: 10th June 2023
City’s only Champions League title came on the 10th of June 2023, a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul, sealed by a second-half goal from Rodri.
Champions League Wins
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | Manchester City | 1-0 | Inter Milan |
City have won the Champions League once from two final appearances, which is a modest return set against the scale of investment in the club since 2008, but one that arrived after years of getting ever closer.
Rodri’s Istanbul Strike Completes the Treble (2022-2023)
City beat Inter Milan 1-0 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on the tenth of June 2023 to win their first Champions League. Rodri settled a tight, cagey final with a low first-time finish from the edge of the box in the 68th minute. The win completed City’s treble, seven days after the FA Cup final, and gave the club their first European Cup, 55 years after their previous entry into the competition ended at the first hurdle.
Near Misses & Losing Finals
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | Chelsea | 1-0 | Manchester City |
Before 2023, City’s Champions League story was mostly about getting agonisingly close but missing out. A losing final and a narrow semi-final defeat both came before the breakthrough, each hurting in their own way.
Havertz Punishes a Bold Team Selection (2020-2021)
City lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the final at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto on the 29th of May 2021, with Kai Havertz rounding Ederson to score the only goal in the 42nd minute after a defence-splitting pass from Mason Mount. Pep Guardiola’s decision to leave out a recognised holding midfielder, pushing Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne further forward instead, was widely queried afterwards as the game slipped away from City in midfield. It remains the closest City have come to the trophy without winning it and is part of the evidence that Guardiola ‘overthinks things’.
Bale’s Deflection Denies a First Final (2015-2016)
City reached their first Champions League semi-final in 2016, and came within one goal of a first final. The first-leg finished goalless at the Etihad on the 26th of April, before Gareth Bale’s cross deflected in off Fernando in Madrid on the fourth of May, giving Real Madrid a 1-0 aggregate win. Real Madrid went on to lift the trophy that year, leaving City to wonder what a single away goal might have meant in the era when they still meant something.
Disasters & Upsets
City’s Champions League history also carries a couple of results that still make for uncomfortable reading, one from the club’s first taste of the competition and one from the very edge of a final.
Fenerbahçe End City’s First European Cup Campaign (1968-1969)
As reigning English champions, City entered the European Cup for the first time in 1968-1969, only to be knocked out in the first round by Fenerbahçe. The first leg at Maine Road finished goalless on the 18th of September 1968, before City lost 2-1 in Istanbul on the second of October, going out 2-1 on aggregate to a side playing in only their second European Cup campaign.
The Group of Death Lives up to its Name (2011-2012)
City’s return to the Champions League after a 43-year absence lasted one group stage. Drawn with Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal in the 2011-2012 group stage, immediately nicknamed the group of death, City won three of their six matches but still finished third, undone above all by a 2-1 defeat in Naples in November. It was an expensive reminder that spending power alone does not guarantee results in Europe.
Rodrygo & Benzema Turn a Final Place into Ash (2021-2022)
City looked certain to reach a second successive Champions League final until the closing minutes of their semi-final second-leg against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu on the fourth of May 2022. Riyad Mahrez’s 73rd-minute goal put City 5-3 up on aggregate, only for Rodrygo to score twice in second-half stoppage time, two goals in as many minutes, to level the tie at 5-5. Karim Benzema then converted a penalty early in extra time to complete a 3-1 win on the night and a 6-5 aggregate victory for Real Madrid, who went on to win the final. It remains the closest thing City’s modern era has to a horror film, one still replayed in full on Real Madrid’s social media every April.