Champions League

CHELSEA star Kai Havertz has ‘nonchalance and swagger’ like former Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov, claims Rio Ferdinand.The German ace helped the Blues beat Real Madrid 2-0 last night to reach the Champions League final.
Kai Havertz produced a classy performance last nightCredit: EPA
“He’s got that lazy swagger at times.””He’s got a nonchalance about him.””The guy is so smooth man.”@rioferdy5 can see parallels between Kai Havertz and a certain Dimitar Berbatov 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/5PBVdcDHWK— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 5, 2021

And BT Sport pundit Ferdinand, 42, purred about the attacking midfielder after the match – comparing him to one of his most skilful former team-mates.
He said: “He reminds me of Berbatov, a player I played with at Manchester United.
“He’s got that little lazy swagger at times, and you feel like he’s got a bit of a nonchalance about him.
“But the guy’s just so smooth man. Joe [Cole] made a good point before the game, the game just doesn’t quicken up around him at all.
“The game slows down to his pace, and he gets things done really, rellay elegantly.
“His touch is always exquisite and I think he’s going to grow into a really important player that really does showcase his talents in a way that not many others can.”
Cole, 39, then added: “He’s very classy.
“He’s going to score a hatful of goals because of that reason, and [Thomas] Tuchel alluded to that before the game.
Ferdinand and Berbatov played together between 2008 and 2012Credit: Getty – Contributor
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“He’s got physicality, he’s going to score headers, he’s going to score from set-pieces.
“I think he’s Berbatov… with a yard – he’s quicker.”
Havertz, 21, signed for Chelsea for £70million from Bayer Leverkusen last summer.
He struggled initially, however, and also tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the season.
But he has shown plenty of signs of life of late, scoring in recent Premier League games against Crystal Palace and Fulham.
Overall he has made 41 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring eight times.
Kai Havertz recently notched twice against FulhamCredit: EPA
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MANCHESTER CITY players could pocket £1MILLION each for winning the Champions League.Pep Guardiola’s squad are in line to share a bonus pot of around £15m as they close in on a treble.
Manchester City’s players could land £1million each if they wrap up a treble this seasonCredit: AP
Top earners like Kevin De Bruyne are believed to have clauses in their contracts for lifting Uefa’s biggest club prize.
Others will get around £250,000 if the club win the European Cup for the first time in their history.
City stand to land around £100m if they come out on top against Chelsea in Istanbul at the end of the month.
However, that figure would fall to a paltry £16.5m should they lose.
Guardiola’s side will win the Premier League title on Saturday if they beat Chelsea — and bank another £150m.
A third crown in four years will mean further bonuses starting at around £150,000 per man for the first-team squad.
The bonus for winning the Carabao Cup has already been triggered.
City saw off Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals with a 4-1 aggregate win as Riyad Mahrez grabbed three of the goals.

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Video footage from inside the dressing room revealed the wild celebrations on Tuesday night.
Chelsea saw off 13-time European champs Real Madrid to secure an all-English final in Istanbul.
Both clubs are expected to get 4,000 tickets for fans with a total crowd of 25,000 in the 76,000-seater Ataturk stadium.
Riyad Mahrez scored three of the four goals to see off PSG in the semisCredit: PA

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MASON MOUNT says Chelsea should have scored FIVE as they beat Real Madrid 2-0 on the night to reach the Champions League final.Blues academy graduate Mount scored the second to send his team through with a 3-1 aggregate win and Chelsea icon Joe Cole heaped praise on the midfielder after the game.
Mason Mount reckons Chelsea should have scored far more than they did against Real MadridCredit: Enterprise
Mason Mount! 💥After so many wasted opportunities, Chelsea FINALLY have their second goal of the night!They’re so close to Istanbul now! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/U6skxXPCMv— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 5, 2021

Timo Werner scored the first at Stamford Bridge but the West Londoners had a stack of chances on the night and should really have made it more comfortable.
Kai Havertz hit the bar, Mount himself blasted over when through on goal and Christian Pulisic dragged one wide.
And Mount – who has been at Chelsea since he was six – said the Blues should have converted more of their chances.
He told BT Sport after the game: “I can’t put into words. Great performance tonight. It was a tough, tough game. They’re going to come and give it everything but we worked hard.
“We should’ve probably had about five. But the most important thing is we won tonight. We want to go into every game winning it.
“It was 1-0 but that really didn’t matter because if they score, they were back in the game. To get that one late on, you can see by the celebrations, it was a massive goal for us and gave us breathing space in the last five minutes.
“We gave everything and we had that desire to win first half. We had a couple of opportunities where we won the ball and should’ve scored but we got the one late on and it’s great.
“We haven’t won nothing yet. Hopefully we’ve got two massive cup finals and hopefully we can win.”
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And Blues icon Joe Cole was chuffed for the midfielder who scored the winnerCredit: Getty

After Mount’s interview, Blues icon Cole was absolutely delighted for the academy graduate.
He said: “In a couple of weeks where we’ve seen the ugly side of football, and then for Mason Mount to score the winning goal…
“He’s been at Chelsea since he was a kid.
“He’s seen this club win trophies and lose trophies and he would have sat in these stands.
“So for him to have been the player to put the finishing touches on what was a top drawer performance…
“For Mason to do that, that shows me that the romance is still in football.”
Chelsea will face Manchester City in the final after Pep Guardiola’s side beat Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 on aggregate in their semi.
And the game WILL take place in Istanbul despite Turkey’s Covid crisis with up to 4,000 tickets to be made available to fans of each team.
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EVEN TIMO WERNER could not miss that one.And from barely a yard out, the erratic German who has endured the most testing of introductions to English football, took another step along the road to becoming a cult hero at Chelsea.
Timo Werner rises to the occasion for the Chelsea opener in a 2-0 win over Real Madrid and 3-01 triumph on aggregateCredit: The Sun
Timo Werner gets a lift from late sub Reece James as Chelsea celebrate earning a Champions League final with Man CityCredit: The Sun
Boss Thomas Tuchel has been rewarded for his patience with striker Timo WernerCredit: AP
Luckily for Werner, it is impossible to be offside when the ball comes crashing back off the crossbar and finds you unmarked, with a gaping goal stretching wide before you like a panoramic view of the Grand Canyon.
Bread and butter for almost any striker from pub level up but then Werner is no ordinary striker.
By the time he nodded Chelsea ahead against Real Madrid on 28 minutes he had already been caught offside once which cost him a goal.
It was a similar situation ten days ago, when he got the wrong side of West Ham’s defence just at the wrong time and it cost his team an early lead before they ultimately went onto win.
Just last week, he missed a sitter from two yards by punting the ball straight at Thibaut Courtois when clean through on goal.
Rewind to Fulham away back in January and after coming off the bench, Werner was one-on-one with the keeper but sliced his shot like a duffer on the golf course.
He has looked nervous, shot of confidence and too eager at times to impose himself on the Premier League following his £47million move from Red Bull Leipzig.
Werner has been falling over his own feet at times this season, yet somehow he is bumbling his way into the grain at Stamford Bridge.
The nippy forward who could run county level times for the 100 metres dash at 15 years old, has been in too much of a hurry to become a key component of a new era at Chelsea.
Like a teenager growing too fast, Werner has been falling over his own feet at times this season, yet somehow he is bumbling his way into the grain at Stamford Bridge and repaying the admirable patience of his boss Thomas Tuchel for sticking with him for so long.
Quite how, it is entirely possible that nobody on earth knows because even after his fourth Champions League goal of the season put Chelsea well in command, Werner still raises more questions than he answers.
Last Saturday at home to Fulham, Werner was on occasion a hindrance to his fellow forwards. Off the pace and too hasty when all he needed to do was put his foot on the ball for a second or two.
He did that with a cushioned pass that set up his German team-mate Kai Havertz for the second goal in the second half which secured three Premier League points last weekend. 
Tuchel has been determined to keep faith with ‘Turbo’ when most people taking a view from distance have been crying out for him to be as ruthless with his unpredictable forward as he has been with other players.
Chelsea lead! 🙌A beautiful one-two in the build-up, before Havertz goes so close to scoring a delicious chip… But Timo Werner is on hand to score the rebound from close range! pic.twitter.com/MWGVcseVul— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 5, 2021

Tammy Abraham’s continued absence from the squad has prompted intense speculation and understandable questions, because he has been the club’s leading scorer for nearly three months on 12 goals yet has been in deep freeze as far as first team football goes.
Werner’s goal was handed on a plate to him last night but saw him finally draw level with the England striker on a round dozen.
Abraham, a Chelsea academy graduate, cost nothing compared to the near £50m splashed on Werner by Tuchel’s predecessor Frank Lampard last summer.
For somebody who prides himself on being so speedy, it has been a painfully long time waiting for Werner to come good. Particularly when he proclaimed so confidently upon arrival last summer that it would take two or three games maximum to get up to speed with our game.
Tuchel has been proved right again by refusing to give into his instincts and drop Werner to try yet another formula up front for Chelsea, the area which has been the club’s only weak area since he took over in January.
Each time he has been asked about Werner, patient Tuchel has insisted the best thing to do has been nothing.
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He even ordered Werner in from extra training some weeks back because he believed the best way forward was to chill out instead of overcooking his failing striker.
Tuchel’s measured approach taking things slowly must have been alien to Werner because he broke so many records as a youngster in Germany to earn his nickname ‘Turbo Timo’.
But the manager who has transformed Chelsea in just three months since taking over has shown that despite a reputation for being abrasive and volatile with his superiors, he is actually a superb man-manager.
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Chelsea fans celebrate outside Stamford Bridge after reaching the Champions League final More