Chelsea have won the Champions League for the second time in their history after beating Manchester City 1-0 in a pulsating final at Porto’s Estádio do Dragão stadium.
Kai Havertz’s first ever goal in the competition was enough to inflict defeat on Pep Guardiola’s side.
Scorers: Havertz 42′.
Manchester City 0
Chelsea 1
Timo Werner was heavily involved in the first half, and really should have put Chelsea in front earlier than they managed it.
The German was found by Kai Havertz free in the area in the opening 10 minutes but mis-hit his shot before he scuffed an effort straight at Ederson from 10 yards out.
Manchester City struggled to get in behind their opponent’s defence early on but Phil Foden almost got lucky when he drove into the penalty area before Antonio Rüdiger produced a stunning last-gasp block to deny the 21-year-old.
Thomas Tuchel was then left deflated when Thiago Silva had to leave the pitch due to a suspected groin injury 38 minutes in but his mood was to suddenly change just four minutes later.
Mason Mount’s through ball split open the City defence leaving Havertz to run through on goal before he rounded Ederson and rolled the ball into the empty net to give his side the lead.
Pep Guardiola’s problems worsened in the 58th-minute when Kevin De Bruyne went off injured following a colission with Rüdiger before City had a penalty shout turned down for an apparent handball from Reece James.
Christian Pulisic came off the bench to become the first American man to play in a Champions League final, and he really should’ve put the game to bed within minutes of his arrival.
Havertz played in the forward after a swift counter-attack but his shot from a tight angle flashed just wide of the far post.
Sergio Agüero came off the bench to play for Manchester City for the final time but the Argentine failed to muster up a big moment.
Phil Foden was then denied by a late block from Andreas Christensen underneath the crossbar in the last minute of normal time as City pressed for an equaliser, before Riyad Mahrez’s right-footed effort from the edge of the box glanced just over the crossbar.
But Chelsea held out and will lift the Champions League trophy for the first time since their 2012 win over Bayern Munich, with Tuchel laying the demons of last year’s final defeat to the Germans as PSG boss to rest.
