Chelsea 1-0 Man City: Two stars for Tuchel's Blues as Pep helps beat himself
The Man City coach decided not to play Rodri or Fernandinho in a strange call that hurt his team
Pep Guardiola got it wrong, again. Just when it seemed like his Manchester City were over their European hoodoo, they fell at the final hurdle, and still have never won the Champions League.
The runaway Premier League champions were firm favourites to beat Thomas Tuchel’s upstart Chelsea, but the coach out-thought himself and didn’t pick a defensive midfielder for the clash in Porto.
It was only the second time this season he has played a game without Rodri or Fernandinho in the middle, and City were vulnerable defensively without that anchor point, while also incapable of stringing much together in attack.
The huge gap left by Ilkay Gundogan, chosen in the role, allowed Kai Havertz to burst into the space, round Ederson and slot home what proved to be the winning goal.
Havertz netted in the 42nd minute, but despite some City possession, the best chances fell to Chelsea, who were able to win the trophy for a second time, after their 2012 triumph in Munich.
The much-maligned Timo Werner, whose superb decoy run also helped open up an ocean of space for Havertz, twice fluffed his lines in front of goal, once firing tamely at Ederson, and another time kicking thin air.
If and when the German can learn to finish consistently, he will be a scary proposition indeed.
Christian Pulisic also missed a fine chance in the second half, firing wide when it seemed like he was poised to score, while Manchester City again failed to create chances.
Kevin de Bruyne went off injured after a clash with Toni Rudiger, but even record scorer Sergio Aguero coming on could not liven their attack.
N’Golo Kante’s amazing work-rate and ability to know where to position himself saw City’s forwards consistently confounded, and his energy and discipline set the tone for Tuchel’s side.
They too lost a big player, Thiago Silva, to injury, but Christensen came on and was flawless.
All credit to Chelsea, especially Kante and the goalscorer Havertz, but after Pep’s first cup final defeat in charge of Man City, he will be left wondering if he helped beat himself.
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