FULL TIME: MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
CHELSEA ARE CHAMPIONS! They defeat Manchester City 1-0 in the final in Porto to lift the trophy for the second time. Everyone had City as favourites, but all credit to Tuchel and the Londoners, they outclassed Guardiola and City when it mattered most. Maherez shaving the bar in the final minute sums up City's night.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
In to injury-time...
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
A wee goalmouth scramble but Chelsea survive. Looks like City's luck is out. SEVEN minutes added on, much to Tuchel's upitiness.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Inside the final five.Tuchel is about to ruin Guardiola's season.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Aguero gives a thumbs up as City go again, but still no end result. Foden failing to connect this time around.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
City are lacking their usual full-court press tonight. They have been very disappointing in the final third for a team that normally scores for fun. Mendy mops up another half-chance as Chelsea are cruising to this title.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Mason Mount comes off for Kovacic as news comes through that Kevin de Bruyne has left the stadium to get a check at hospital. He had a massive black-eye last time I checked... Hope he is OK for Belgium in the Euros.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Sergio Aguero is on. Will there be one last twist in an amazing career? Raheem Sterling makes way.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
15 minutes to go for City to find a leveller.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
City straight up the other end but no one can get on the end of a Sterling cross.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
So close to 2-0 Chelsea as Pulisic fires just wide on the break after Ederson closes the angles.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Brilliant from Mahrez but the Chelsea cut out another great cross. City still patient but time is running out.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Pulisic comes on for Werner as Tuchel makes a Chelsea change.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Huge penalty appeal as the ball comes off Re3ece James' arm. REferee is having none of it as Gabriel Jesus takes De Bruyne's place.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Uh-oh. De Bruyne is down after a body-check from Rudiger. The Chelsea man gets a yellow, but KDB is still down. Worrying for City. He is out and in tears. Sad scenes for the Belgian man. Raheem takes over as captain as De Bruyne goes down the tunnel.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
City continue their patient passing game, but Chelsea are being smart and cutting out the vital final ball.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
From the outset City set camp on the Chelsea box - who opt for the eight-man defence. Risky tactics against this attack but may play into the counter-attack plans of Tuchel.
KICK-OFF: MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
We are up again. Chelsea are 45 minutes away from their second Champions League title, and rob Guardiola of City's first. What we have in store will be historic... erm, obviously...
HALF-TIME: MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Just to go over that goal again... Mason Mount finds a pin-perfect ball to Havertz, who does the business to get Tuchel screaming on the touchline.
HALF-TIME: MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Well, well. This second 45 is going to be one for the ages...
GOAL! MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 1
Chelsea brak the line and Kai Havertz beats Edersson. We have a massive ding-dong now as half-time approaches.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
Chelsea's Thiago looks gutted as he sits on the steps... He can only hope for his team. And wait...
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
Thiago cannot continue and Christiansen is on in his place.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
Gundogan gets a rightful booking for leaving his studs in Thiago. It looked sore and he gets treatment.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
So close to the opener as City's Mahrez is inches away from connecting with a lovely cutback. This is on an edge knives have never seen.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
We are at 50-50 in pretty much every department so far. A tidy bit of defending gives Mendy a clean take at the back for Chelsea.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
No goals but this has been enthralling so far. The finest of margins have kept it goalless after 25 minutes. One thing is for sure, Tuchel's Chelsea are going for this with everything.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
Things settle down somewhat after a ctrazy counter-attacking start. Kante was the latest man to miss a chace for the Londoners before Sterling is cut out for City.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
Wow. Glorious chance for Chelsea as a mix-up lets Werner through. But Ederson is up to it and makes a great stop.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
Ping-pong! Sterling goes close after a sustained period of pressure but he is denied and Chelsea break. Werner messes up and then we go again but Sterling cannot find a man in the box.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
City get into their passing game early, but Chelsea are harrying them every step of the wy. Ederson tidies up an early break by the Blues.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
We are under way. Who will claim the trophy? Can Tuchel outsmart Guardiola once again? The beat the Sky Blues twice already this season, remember, even if they start as underdogs today.
MAN CITY 0 CHELSEA 0
Silly dancing going on now - not a fan. We are 5 mins away from a massive game with massive implications for both sides.
MAN CITY v CHELSEA
TEAM NEWS
Man City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Sterling, Foden. Subs: Ake, Gabriel Jesus, Aguero, Steffen, Laporte, Rodri, Torres, Mendy, Fernandinho, Joao Cancelo, Carson, Garcia.
Chelsea: Mendy, James, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell, Mount, Havertz, Werner. Subs: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Christensen, Pulisic, Caballero, Zouma, Kovacic, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Gilmour, Emerson Palmieri.
“It’s fantastic that there are two English teams in the final,” says Craig Leader, manager of Crown & Lion, Byblos Barsha Heights.
“A north-south divide and we are going to be in for another great game. The new protocols mean we have a real vibe back in the place. We are booked out tonight, like most other places across the city for a huge game. Who will win? Manchester United were stunned by Villarreal in the Europa League final a few days ago, and I think we will see another upset and Chelsea will take the title away form Manchester City.”
There are so many subplots and questions to tonight’s game we could get a deal with Penguin. But the main ones are as follows:
Will this City team — on a cusp of greatness — announce their true arrival among the big boys?
Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel has a point to prove having missed out on the trophy last time out with PSG. Can he prove the doubters wrong?
Can the Blues make a statement after a poor season and another sacked manager — trophyless will hurt having come close in the FA Cup?
Can City really hold it together on the biggest stage where they have failed so many times, despite domestic dominance in England?
Time will tell — well, two hours or so from now will give us a clearer picture ...
Here we go. Nervous much? Manchester City are preparing to take on Chelsea in a colossal clash of English titans.
Will it be Pep’s crowning glory in a decade-long Abu Dhabi project, or will Thomas Tuchel and the Londoners upset the applecart?
