Cushing threw his emotions full time, walking through the Joie stadium with a radiant smile on his face while applauding supporters.
He stayed to absorb the applause while singing ‘Blue Moon’ and sang “city, city, city.”
The former city midfielder, Izzy Christiansen, described it as a “tactical master class” of Cushing, but insists that the bases were placed, and it is about believing.
“For me it was to make sure we could compete against the best teams. To win trophies, you have to beat the best,” Cushing said.
“We have to be a threat in each phase of the game and have that presence. This is how sneaking tight and critical games.”
City won early and controlled possession, but the impulse balanced throughout a tense first half.
Cushing changed formations in the second half, moving from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and introduced honeymoon, back to the way after returning from knee surgery in January, as a substitute to have a significant impact.
He asked for courage and confidence on his side after his defeat in the final of the Cup and Medema believes that they delivered it.
“The Nights of the Champions League at the Joie Stadium have been quite special so far, so I am very happy to have obtained the victory,” Miedema told BBC Sport.
“You always want to start, but I’m not in a position where I can play four lots of 90 minutes in a row. We need to be intelligent.
“[Cushing] He really wants us to play forward and take risks. Sometimes we did very well. Hopefully we can take it to another level on Sunday and Thursday. “
