By Norman Isaac Mwambazi
London is blue. At least for tonight. Chelsea have managed to beat Manchester City in an all-English Champions League final played in Estádio do Dragão in Porto, Portugal.
Chelseas striker Timo Werner missed the chance to put his team in front but his countrymate Kai Hervertz stepped up to score in the 42nd minute after being played in briolliantly by Mason Mount. Kai Hervertz’s goal proved to be enough to make Chealse the 2020/21 Kings of Football.
In the second half, Pep Guardiola tried to make changes to his team to reinforce his attacking which seemed to be blunt throughout the match but this was not enough to to break Chelsea’s “steel” backline that was manned by captain César Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, and Ben Chilwell.
This is Chelsea’s second Champions League trophy in the club’s history, and the first in nine years, having won the first one in Munich, Germany, against Bayern Munich in 2012. The victory banished memories of their FA Cup final disappointment earlier this month and seals their first piece of silverware under Tuchel, who replaced Frank Lampard back in January.
Meanwhile, Champions League success proved elusive once again for Man City and Pep Guardiola. Despite their Premier League and Carabao Cup successes, their wait to win Europe’s biggest club competition goes on.
Here is how the two teams lined up:
Manchester City: Ederson, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Zinchenko, Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Rahim Sterling, Phil Foden.
Chelsea: Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Tiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Reece James, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner.
