UEFA Champions League: Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in the final

the summary of the match

Porto, Portugal – Chelsea won the Champions League for the second time, beating favorite Manchester City (1-0) in the final thanks to Kai Havertz (42), on Saturday in Porto, a symbolic title for coach Thomas Tuchel, licensed from Paris Saint-Germain in birthday. .

The German technician and the London club together experienced the turmoil of a unique season, turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seventh in the Premier League when they arrived in Swabia in mid-January, the “Blues” saw a season of ups and downs, leaving them neglected against the last England champions.

But in a unique year, the surprising winner: “Sky Blues”, which has been put into orbit by the massive investments of its wealthy Emirati owner, will have to wait before he gets his name on the award list.

Like Tottenham in 2019 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2020, they lost their first Champions League final, which is proof that the main competition is not allowing itself to be tempted by newcomers.

Chelsea suffered from this dire situation in 2008, when they were overtaken by Manchester United after a penalty shootout in Moscow.

He learned “the blues” and took revenge after four years from Bayern Munich. This is a continuation of the “citizens”, who only had one owner (Ilkay Gündogan) in Porto experience this meeting.

Silva comes out of the injury …

Pep Guardiola twice came off the bench in Barcelona, ​​not finding the key against Tuchel, who defeated him for the third time in a month and a half (after the Cup and the Championship).

The German, like Chelsea, suffered from painful professional training in the finals, where he lost last August in Lisbon to Bayern (1-0) with Paris Saint-Germain, who sacked him after four months, due to the dispute over the proposed match.

His players put what they want in front of City: solidarity in defense and permanent commitment. Tuchel has N’Golo Kanté to tie everything together.

The French international “with three lungs” provided a match in his image, as he was tireless when he arrived Urgent, And weighted when he had the ball.

His team-mate with the Blues, Olivier Giroud, remained on the bench throughout the match.

With around 4,000 fans, the Blues also benefited from the support of the 12th man, after their fans won the match from the stands.

Tuchel sensed it when, five minutes after the match, he asked for more noise to be made by the fans, who had erected a wall of cheer and whistles in Manconnian’s last attacks, during the seven minutes of extra time.

The presence of 14,110 spectators at Dragon Stadium gave life to this Final, as well as the English in the commitment made by the two teams.

The loud “Thiago Silva” accompanied the exit of the 39th Brazilian defender, who was injured in the thigh, and who had difficulty concealing his depression.

The former Parisian, who tried to hide his emotional face under his shirt, dreamed of winning the trophy that eluded him last August while he was in Paris Saint-Germain.

But in this theater that was brought back to life thanks to the fans, the sequences connected, and the joy in tears succeeded, when Havertz opened the recording three minutes later.

On the other hand, the 21-year-old German international threw Ederson with a hook before pushing the ball into the empty net.

Until then, the meeting was just what the two coaches had imagined: Guardiola like Tuchl declared on Friday that they were preparing “to suffer,” and they were right.

… de Bruyne too

Each team had periods of dominance.

Chelsea came first, with Timo Werner in particular, but the German was clumsy (10, 14).

Manchester City responded well, but at his best opportunity, Antonio Rudiger managed an exceptional tackle on Phil Foden (27) who was on the verge of shooting from close range.

He also missed a few centimeters in Riyadh Mahrez alone to take over the Kyle Walker center (30).

The Algerian international tried his luck again by launching a dangerous position in the event of an emergency, Cesar Azpilicueta (68th).

Moments earlier, De Bruyne came out injured, 59, after a blow to the face. Like Silva before him, the Belgian was very touched when he left the field.

The city abandoned his dream … The ruling could have taken place earlier without fail, Christian Pulisic (73) vs.

After the final blow from Mahrez (90 + 7), Chelsea fans rejoiced. Meanwhile, home announcers urged them to put on their masks and stay seated in their seats. The last photo of a season like no other.