BEVERLY HILLS, May 30, (THEWILL) – The 66th European Cup goes to the Blues of Chelsea as Thomas Tuchel’s charges have won the UEFA Champions League after a tight 1-0 victory over fellow English Premier League side Manchester City in Porto. It made the decision to replace Frank Lampard midseason and bring in Tuchel completely worthwhile for the London club.
The Stamford Bridge side had a much better first half even if City had the better of the ball possession statistics. German forward Timo Werner missed a glorious opportunity to put Chelsea in front, before a superb pass from English midfielder Mason Mount released Kai Havertz to round the onrushing City keeper Ederson Moraes and tap the ball into an empty net just before the interval.
The second period was a tense affair. Guardiola demonstrated a resolve change the outcome and made a number of changes. The City boss was desirous to alter the pattern of play and find a way through the compact impregnable backline of Tuchel’s side. It still failed to create a chance of note.
In fact, Chelsea substitute, the first American to play on a UCL final, Christian Pulisic, almost doubled City’s misery but scoffed his chance with 17 minutes left as he shot wide when clean through on goal to Tuchel’s dismay. But, there was no need to fret because, even after seven minutes of extra time after 90 minutes, the Blues’ defense was impossible to breach.
With that, Chelsea claimed their second UCL trophy in the competition after their 2012 victory over Bayern Munich and their sixth major European trophy overall. It was reminiscent of the circumstances of that 2012 victory because it was a season where they fired a coach midseason, Andre Villas-Boas, and the new manager, Roberto Di Matteo, won the trophy.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
