UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL: BATTLE OF THE BLUE ARMIES

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It is no doubt going to be an exciting game as the beautiful city of Porto hosts Premier League giants, Manchester City and Chelsea at the Estádio do Dragão, home of FC Porto.

The Final which was originally scheduled to take place at Instanbul’s Antaturk Olympic stadium was however overturned due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The Cityzens are in their first ever European Cup Final after an impressive run as Guardiola’s men surmounted their Quarterfinal curse. Meanwhile, Chelsea are looking forward to a second triumph having lifted the trophy in 2012.

THE COACHES:

Pep Guardiola is considered one of the best coaches of all time and known to be tactically brilliant as he has shown over the years. He is the youngest coach to have lifted the Champions League and his teams are known for clinical and attractive football. At Manchester City, he has done a fantastic job so far and the last piece off the puzzle is the Champions League trophy which he last lifted in 2011 when he was at Barcelona.

Thomas Tuchel over the years has shown he is a top Manager having achieved success in the teams he coached before taking the Chelsea job. He was runner-up in the 2019-20 Champions League where his PSG side lost to eventual winners Bayern Munich. Since he took over at Chelsea, he has improved the team’s performance and turned what seem an average team into trophy contenders. He guided them to victory against Manchester City on their way to the FA cup final which they lost to Leicester city.

THE TEAMS:

Manchester City and Chelsea will be playing against each other for the fourth time in the 2020-2021 season. The first meeting was in January where City won 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. Chelsea came out victors in the following two meetings as they beat City 1-0 in the FA Cup semi-finals and 2-1 league victory at the Etihad.

Although City appears favorites, both teams boasts of quality players to lift the trophy and they’ll put their might to test on the field of play.

POSSIBLE LINE UPS.

Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko; Gundogan, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Foden

Chelsea: Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell; Ziyech, Mount, Werner.

Both teams are unlikely to start with a recognized forward as the game will to be decided by the fluidity of both teams when with the ball.

City Legend, Aguero if played, will be playing is final game for the Cityzens. Will he bow out a Champions League winner?

Thank you for your time.