Another season draws to a close, after a spectacular outing this season Manchester City and Chelsea have worked their way to the top of the Champions League finale in the 2020-2021 season. With an all-out dominating show City took down the last year’s runner-up Paris Saint Germain in the last four stage by winning on a 4-1 aggregate. Blues, on the other hand, have turned over a new leaf under Thomas Tuchel losing just two matches under his guidance this season they took down Real Madrid, the club that holds the most wins in the league, by 3-1 as well.
Both the teams have set up an all-English Champions League finale to be played on 29th May in Istanbul. This would be the third all-English finale of the competition, Manchester United and Chelsea competed in 2007-08 and Tottenham and Liverpool competed in 2018-19.
A Walk down memory lane:
Last season Manchester City’s run was cut short in the quarter finale itself when Lyon took them down for 1-3 to advance ahead. This season they have returned in a much more lethal form and hope to win the team’s first European trophy since 1970. Manchester City has been in their best form this season dominating the Premier League back home with a considerable advantage over Manchester United. This is the first time they have entered the finale in the prestigious European Tournament where the best of the best clubs fight for international glory.
Last season for Chelsea was abysmal as they could not even make it past the last 16 stage and lost the match to Bayern Munich who went on to lift the cup. Though they do hold an advantage over City as they have won the tournament once in 2012 and under the invigorating presence of Tuchel they would want to double that title. This season after Frank Lampard’s departure Blues have put on an impressive show and made their way back to the top four in the Premier League to secure a birth for next season as well.
Man City’s run so far in the Champions League
England’s elite club is already well known for their attacking brilliance but they have worked hard on their defense as well this season. In the group stage they secured 16 points out of 18 and advanced ahead by beating Porto, Olympiakos, and Marseille. In the last 16 round Cityzens beat Borussia Monchengladbach in a formidable fashion by going 4-0 on aggregate.
In the quarter-final round, they took on another Bundesliga team, Borussia Dortmund, and went 2-1 at home and 1-2 away to advance ahead with 4-2 and end the season for Haaland early. In the next single-elimination knockout stage they took on Paris Saint Germain and repeated their bashing by securing a 4-1 win over the French team to reach the finals.
Ever since Rúben Dias’ joined John Stones in central defence they have put up walls so strong that almost makes them impenetrable with just one goal conceded. On the attacking front they have the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, and Ilkay Gündoğan and two of their players are tied for top scorer with four goals- Mahrez, Torres.
Their defense remains strong with just four goals conceded in their 12 matches and how they are annihilating their competition left and right, makes us wonder they can go all the way. What we can expect is the same manner of attacking in which they suffocate the opponents by going all out at once with their relentless pursuit.
Chelsea’s run so far in the Champions League
Chelsea was a day late in booking their berth but also enjoyed a similar run throughout the season after Frank Lampard was dismissed. In the group stage Blues topped the group with 14 points and beat the likes of Sevilla, Krasnodar, and Rennes. In the last 16 stage they took on Spain’s Atletico and knocked them out with a clean 3-0 win. In the quarterfinals, they stumbled a little after losing the second leg to Porto but moved ahead still on an aggregate. Taking on another Spain’s team in the semi-finals, they faltered with 1-1 draw in the first leg but went on to finish 2-0 in the second leg to enter the finale.
They have the likes of Timo Werner on their side who could be considered Chelsea’s most dangerous player, along with Mason Mount it would be an interesting clash with Phil Foden on the other side. N’Golo Kanté has also amassed a reputation to win trophies with incredible pace on the field cutting across the likes of Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos with ease and Olivier Giroud is their top scorer this season with 6 goals this season. If they stay strong on the front-end Chelsea could outclass their rivals and secure a second win in the tournament.
Where do the bosses stand?
City’s Pep Guardiola, in his 11 seasons have held eight league titles but his last UEFA Champions League winners' title came in 2011 and after a decade of gap it is time to win the title once more to become the sixth coach to have won the European Cup with two different clubs.
Taking over this season itself after PSG dismissed him Tuchel, has given Blues a new sign of life by guiding them to 16 wins of 24 games. Tuchel also led Chelsea to a win past City in the FA Cup Semi finale by 1-0 and recently Chelsea also denied City a chance to win the Premier League trophy early by taking them down by 2-1. Having led Paris to back-to-back titles in France league and helping the team to the finale stage last season he is the first man to have led two different clubs to back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals.
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