Man City coach Pep Guardiola has made the candid admission that a a few bad misses by Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku key to his finally getting his hands on the Champions League with the Cityzens.

The Spaniard spoke to reporters at the Legends Trophy presentation, as reported by FCInter1908.

Earlier this month, Guardiola finally guided Manchester City to the Champions League trophy.

It has felt like a long time coming. The former Barcelona coach had six unsuccessful attempts at winning it, even when his team have always been among the favourites.

However, City finally translated their domestic dominance into a win on the continent’s biggest stage.

They did so via a narrow 1-0 win over Inter in the final in Istanbul.

Things could have been a lot different, however, had the Nerazzurri taken some of their late chances.

After City had went ahead midway through the second half, Inter threw everything at them in search of an equalizer. Their efforts produced several presentable chances, but none of them managed to find the back of the net.

Man City Coach Guardiola Admits Lukaku Misses Key To UCL Triumph

Perhaps the most glaring misses came from striker Lukaku.

First, the Belgian was unfortunate to find himself in the way of a goalbound Federico Dimarco header. He wasn’t able to react in time, and ended up blocking his own teammate’s shot.

Then, very late on, Lukaku found himself in a great position. Wingback Robin Gosens headed the ball to the Belgian, who was free just a few yards from goal.

However, the striker’s effort was straight at City goalkeeper Ederson, who was able to make the save.

In the end, City saw out their advantage. This allowed the Premier League giants to win the Champions League for the first time in their history.

And it allowed Guardiola to win Europe’s biggest club competition for the first time since he was coaching Barcelona.

The coach admitted that “It took us eight years to win the Champions League. And I’m only European champion right now because a striker [Lukaku] missed a free header from three yards out.”