Chelsea are the new kings of Europe after defeating fellow Premier League side Manchester City 1-0 in the 2020/21 Champions League final on Saturday night at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, Portugal.
2020/2021 UEFA Champions League
0-1
Match Report
Kai Havertz supplied the lone goal of the night when he latched onto a Mason Mount pass and finished past Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson to earn Chelsea their second Champions League title.
It was a very open start between the two sides, with plenty of back and forth and Timo Werner of Chelsea getting the cleanest look in the first quarter of an hour when he shot right at Ederson.
Manchester City were getting forward as well and Phil Foden looked set to score, only for a last-gasp intervention from Antonio Rudiger to spoil the chance.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was forced into his first change of the night later in the first half when Brazilian centre-back could not continue due to injury and was replaced by Andreas Christensen.
Right when it looked like the two teams would retreat to the dressing rooms scoreless, Chelsea broke the deadlock by taking advantage of a lapse in the Manchester City defence as Mount's pass into Havertz allowed the German to round Ederson and score into an open net for a Chelsea lead.
Manchester City weren't having much luck to start the second stanza and a nasty clash between Kevin De Bruyne and Rudiger ended with the Belgian leaving the pitch and replaced by Gabriel Jesus.
History was made shortly after the hour mark with the introduction of Christian Pulisic, who became the first United States player to play in a Champions League final when he came on for Werner.
As things entered the final 20 minutes, the match took on the predictable shape of Chelsea sitting in their half and waiting to strike on the counter attack, while Manchester City poked and prodded for an equaliser. One such chance was presented to Pulisic to double the margin, but the shot floated wide.
Guardiola's side needed a goal and a man who has delivered in many crunch spots for the Citizens was brought in off the bench, with Sergio Aguero on for Raheem Sterling for the final quarter of an hour.
But Chelsea's defence was rock solid, refusing to concede any dangerous chances thanks to the tireless and impeccable N'Golo Kante and the entire back line. In the end, it was enough to see things out to the final whistle, giving the Londoners their second Champions League crown.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
7' Sterling misses great chance
10' Werner misses great chance
15' Werner's shot too straight
16' Werner's shot wide out
20' Aguero watches the game in stands
26' Rudiger makes decent clearance
33' Yellow Card! Gundogan booked
41' GOAL! Man City 0-1 Chelsea (Havertz)
46' Werner's shot wide out
56' Yellow Card! Rudiger booked
57' Injured De Bruyne replaced
68' Azpilicueta makes an important clearance
72' CLOSE! Pulisic's shot wide out
76' Sub! Aguero replaces Sterling
82' Jorginho's long shot wide out
Line-ups
Man City XI: Walker, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Sterling, Stones, Ederson, Zinchenko, Ruben Dias, Bernardo, Foden
Subs: Carson, Aguero, Fernandinho, Cancelo, Mendy, Laporte, Ake, Z. Steffen, Jesus, Rodri, Ferran Torres, Eric Garcia
Chelsea XI: Thiago Silva, Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Rudiger, E. Mendy, Kante, Werner, Mount, Chilwell, Havertz, Reece James
Subs: Caballero, Giroud, Alonso, Kovacic, Zouma, Emerson, Kepa, Christensen, Ziyech, Pulisic, Hudson-Odoi, Gilmour