Shaurya Sangra , Vaibhav Singh
The Curious case of Chelsea:Since Roman Abramovich took over the North London Club of Chelsea, they have had one clear goal: To Win Trophies and looking down at their trophy cabinet we have to say that they haven’t let themselves down. They have won the Premier League and the FA cup 5 times respectively. The Europa League twice and their ultimate prize came in the 2011-12 season when they lifted the Champions League trophy.
Chelsea appointed Frank Lampard as their head coach hoping he would revive the club and continue to provide a top 4 finish season by season. Frank spent big in the summer by acquiring exceptional talent through Europe to build a strong squad that could even compete for the title.
He bought in the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy, Thiago Silva and put up academy players like Reece James and Mason Mount in the main squad giving them ample amount of playtime each and every gameweek
But the time it took Chelsea to sack Lampard was not long. He was underperforming in the league, the passion in the club was missing and the relationship between a few forign players and the Manager had been sour. Then came the Tactician, Thomas Tuchel who took no time in transforming the club into a formidable force that they should have had earlier with that exceptional group of players.
The first European Game he faced was against an in-form and the La liga Champions Atletico Madrid in the round of Sixteen , an exceptional overhead kick by Olivier Giroud sent them into the quarter Finals where they faced Porto who had just knocked out Juventus in the previous round. With little to do they came out as the winners. The most daunting task came in the semi-final where they faced the Spanish Giants Real Madrid. Chelsea were exceptional in both the legs with fantastic control of the ball and defensive brilliance. The second leg at the Stamford Bridge where they came out with a 3-0 win against Madrid just showed how a good manager with a good squad could do wonders with a club.
But the recent few weeks have not been the best, they lost to Lecister in the FA Cup final and again in the final match week to Aston Villa.
Chelsea did manage to secure a top four Spot just itching above Lecister City who eventually qualified for the Europa League.
N’Golo Kanté would prove to be the most decisive player of Chelsea in the final, he has again regained his top form with the support of Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount adding to his abilities to provide long balls. Chelsea’s defence is supported by the veteran Thigao Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta who get incredible support from the Keeper Edouard Mendy and defenders Antonio Rüdiger and Ben Chilwell respectively.
What might hold Chelsea back from winning the game against City surely is their attack. Timo Werner has not been in good form and has been very inconsistent. When in clear positions he tries to assist a number 10 than going onto score himself. Despite this he still has racked up double digit numbers in both Goals and Assists. He will have to be exceptional if Chelsea desires to win the Champions League.
Many footballing pundits have gone with Manchester City for the final. But Chealse do have the firepower and capability to cause an upset to the desired Manchester City Treble. Could this possibly be a miracle at Portugal?
The Magnificent case of Manchester City:
Kun Agüero, the Manchester City club legend, vowed to all city fans back in the day that he will stay at the Club until they win the UEFA Champions League.As he would be parting ways with the Club after the conclusion of this season, City fans have good reasons to believe that 2021 may be their year.
30th May 2021,whether Manchester City wins or loses it surely will be a day every Manchester City fan will remember for the years to come.
Even after doing wonders in the Premier League since the last 10 years and winning it in 5 outings, City has always been analogous to the South African Cricket Team in the UCL by losing in 3 consecutive Champions league Quarter Finals in 2019-20, 2018-19 and 2017-18 seasons respectively. But that’s definitely not the case this year, Man City were 11th in their Premier League before November 2020 and on 23 May 2021 they were crowned the Premier League champions, again for the 5th time. What contributed to this was their 28 match unbeaten run in domestic and European championship which was finally ended by a 2-0 loss to their local rivals Manchester United in the Manchester Derby. Pep Guadiola’s fantastic defensive signing of Ruben Dias from Benfica and the resurgence of John Stones contributed highly to their form making their back 4 an unbreachable one with their keeper Edereson being in the form of his life.
Manchester City got past the Quarter Final challenge against the inform Borussia Dortmund due to a magical performance by their own young prodigy, Phil Phoden who succeeded in scoring a goal in both the legs. But their biggest challenge this year came against the previous year runner up PSG in their maiden appearance in the semifinal of the Champions League. The fixture was extremely difficult for both the teams but City came out to be the better side thanks to their own Algerian King,Riyad Mahrez who went on to score three goals combined in both the fixtures.
After winning the Carabao Cup defeating Tottenham Hotspur and the Premier League, Manchester City has set its eyes on the European Silverware. If City succeeds in winning the Final against Chelsea this would make it their first ever European Treble. But what comes in their Glory is an in-form Chelsea side under the new management of Thomas Tuchel. City has already faced Chelsea three times this season which has resulted in City losing twice and winning just once.
They lost the FA cup semi final and a Premier League match to Chealse in a span of 1 month. Their single win came in when Chealse was being managed by Frank Lampard.
It can be anticipated that the final would be a highly defensive one with Chelsea trying to hold much of the ball getting the City players frustrated as City has not been consistent when the oppositions hold much of the ball when compared to themselves.
We can have a 1-0 or 2-1 scoreline in favour of any side as both teams have performed great defensively this year. Rest assured the Champions League Final would be a footballing masterclass.
Predicted starting 11’s(If no Injuries occur):
Chelsea- Mendy(GK); Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rüdiger; Azpilicueta(C), Jorginho, Kanté, Chilwell; Puliši?, Werner, Mount
Manchester City- Ederson(GK); Walker, Stones, Rúben Dias, Zinchenko; Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho(C), Gündo?an; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Foden
– (both the Authors are pursuing their High School at Jodhamal Public School)
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