Chelsea beat Man City for the third straight time to claim their second Champion’s League crown. Kai Havertz’s first ever goal in the competition three minutes before half-time proved to be the difference against a rather nervy-looking City side. Pep Guardiola’s men were chasing a treble after what has been a magnificent season. Chelsea meanwhile were looking to add silverware to their season, something they couldn’t manage last season under Frank Lampard.
Team News
Manchester City
Guardiola made one perhaps surprising change from the semi-final second leg. Raheem Sterling replaced Fernandinho. This meant City lined up without any holding midfielder from the start.
Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel also made one change from the second leg win over Real Madrid. Reece James replaced Andreas Christensen. N’Golo Kante and Eduoard Mendy passed late fitness tests to make it to the starting XI.
Chelsea make experience count
With 12000 spectators watching, an attack-minded City started the stronger. Ederson’s long pass caught Reece James on his heels, but Raheem Sterling couldn’t capitalize. Guardiola opted to play without a holding midfielder, and this was leaving spaces at the back. Chelsea created two chances that fell to Timo Werner, but he was unable to do anything tangible with either. The closest City came was when Phil Foden looked set to score, but Antonio Rudiger’s last ditch tackle averted the danger.
Chelsea then suffered a blow when Thiago Silva, who captained PSG in last season’s final, injured his groin. He was unable to carry on and was replaced by Andreas Christensen. However, just three minutes later, Mason Mount’s Kaka-esque through ball put Havertz through on goal. The German calmly rounded past the onrushing Ederson, and slotted the ball in the empty net.
Second Half
In the second half, a much more urgent looking Man City came out, but they weren’t troubling Edouard Mendy in goal. On 60 minutes, they suffered an injury blow of their own, when captain Kevin De Bruyne was forced off with a head injury. He was replaced by Gabriel Jesus but his arrival didn’t change things either. Instead, it was Chelsea’s substitute Christian Pulisic, who should have doubled the lead. A lightning-quick break saw the American through on goal, but his chip went narrowly wide.
With 15 minutes to go, Sergio Aguero was introduced for his final game for City. They came within inches of scoring when Riyad Mahrez’s looping shot drifted wide past a stranded Mendy in stoppage time. There was to be no fairytale ending for Aguero, as Chelsea held on to ensure the trophy traveled to London instead of Manchester.
A huge win for Chelsea, who continue to be Guardiola’s bogey team. Tuchel gets his third straight win over the Spaniard, becoming the third German manager in three years to win the competition.
Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea: Opta Stats
- Chelsea are the third English side to win the Champions League on two occasions, after Liverpool (2004-05 and 2018-19) and Manchester United (1998-99 and 2007-08).
- Pep Guardiola has lost more matches against Chelsea in all competitions than against any other club (8), losing his last three in a row against the Blues. Indeed, the only other sides that he has lost three in a row against in his managerial career are Real Madrid (2012-14) and Liverpool (2018).
- Thomas Tuchel became just the second manager to record three consecutive wins in all competitions against Pep Guardiola (excl. Barcelona B), after fellow German Jurgen Klopp did so in 2018 with Liverpool.
- Tuchel is the third different German manager to win the UEFA Champions League in the last three seasons (Jurgen Klopp 2019, Hans-Dieter Flick 2020) – it’s the first time the European Cup/Champions League has been won in three consecutive years by three different managers of the same nationality since 1979-80 to 1981-82 (Brian Clough, Bob Paisley, Tony Barton).