The Champions League final is the biggest event in the football calendar, and Chelsea and Manchester City gave the spectacle the respect it deserves, putting on an awesome display of skill and determination for its millions of fans.
Chelsea won the 2021 UEFA Champions League title for the second time, edging fellow English club Manchester City in the all-English final, 1-0, Saturday at Porto's Estadio Dragao in Portugal.
Never. Rule. Chelsea. Out. [BT] pic.twitter.com/1erod9i4XH — Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) May 29, 2021
Chelsea's triumph condemns Pep Guardiola's men to another year without the highly coveted trophy.
Pep is the manager of Manchester City, the richest soccer club in the world owned by the royal family of Abu Dhabi.
Kai Havertz's first-ever Champions League goal made all the difference.
"It's an incredible feeling... I waited 15 years for that moment," Havertz said. The 21-year-old got behind City's defense after gettting a perfect pass from Mason Mount. City could not respond as superstar Kevin De Bruyne suffered an injury and left the match -- in tears -- in the second half.
This was such a heartbreaking sight to see #Debruyne leave like that..#ChampionsLeagueFinal pic.twitter.com/eeGov3AMQ6 — Midhun Mohan (@astral_kiss) May 29, 2021
"We as players understand the magnitude of the game... if you win you're a hero and if you lose you're almost a failure," De Bruyne said. The Blues controlled the match from the start and used their patient, organized defense to keep City's offense at bay for the big part of the game as Pep's ward rarely looked like a threat going forward.
Not a bad 5 months, aye Thomas? pic.twitter.com/CfIBwC1fOJ — Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) May 29, 2021
"They (the players) were determined to win this. We wanted to be a stone in their (Manchester City's) shoe," an emotional Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel said after the game. "We encouraged everybody to step up and step out, to be more brave and create dangerous counterattacks," Tuchel said in remarks quoted by CNN. Chelsea's Christian Pulisic made history himself.
First American to win the UCL ️ First African Goalkeeper to win the UCL️#ChelseaFC #Mendy #Pulisic pic.twitter.com/cHjfrkhy2j — Harish (@HarishDadi1) May 29, 2021
Pulisic becomes the first American male to play in a UEFA Champions League final when he replaced Timo Werner in the 66th minute.
"It's been a difficult road for me, and I couldn't imagine winning the Champions League ever in my life. It's just crazy," Pulisic said, according to Front Row Soccer.
It was a crushing blow for Pep and Man City. Speaking to BT Sport, he said, "We had chances... we were brave and we could not convert the chances as they were so strong."
Widely considered one of the greatest managers of all time, Pep hasn't won the title since leaving Barcelona in 2012.
"We come back maybe one day again," Pep said.
