CHELSEA fans in London and Porto celebrate as their side are crowned champions of Europe after beating Man City 1-0.
The West London team lifted the Champions League trophy for the second time after a tactical masterclass from manager Thomas Tuchel in Portugal last night.
Thousands of fans who could not get tickets travelled to Porto to soak in the atmosphere and watch the match in locals bars.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, tens of thousands of supporters packed into pubs to watch the historic win.
The Blues were underdogs going into the final despite beating City twice in the FA Cup and the Premier League in recent weeks.
But with Pep Guardiola’s men running away with the domestic league this season, the bookies had them as narrow favourites before the contest.
The victory was secured by Kai Havertz’s first half strike after a Mason Mount through-ball.
Porto’s Estadio do Dragao was a late stand-in for Istanbul due to surging Covid cases in Turkey, allowing 14,100 to attend.- including 6,000 fans from each club.
Guardiola fielded a surprise midfield without a holding player in a bid to catch out Tuchel, but the move backfired and City paid the toughest price.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has spent five years honing City for European dominance, but that frustrating wait goes on.
Pep, who won the trophy once as a player and twice as a manager, last lifted the Champions League in 2011, the year before Chelsea’s first European triumph.
Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard failed to blend the £220million-worth of summer transfer talent and paid with his job in January.
And so in came Tuchel, the demanding former PSG boss, on a clear brief to get immediate results.
Any fears of a tight affair were immediately dispelled from the start of last night’s contest.
Guardiola eventually gave up the ghost on his pivot-free midfield just past the hour, with Fernandinho replacing Bernardo Silva.
Christian Pulisic had a golden chance to cement Chelsea’s advantage when played in by Havertz, only to put his dinked effort wide.
City refused to give up though, attacking again and again, and moving the ball in their neat patterns.
Seven minutes of injury time left Chelsea players and fans biting nails allowing Riyad Mahrez to nearly equalised with a snap shot in the closing moments.
But the ball sailed just wide and Chelsea were champions of Europe again.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
