Chelsea vs Manchester City: The road to the Champions League Final

This Saturday the club season will draw to an end with the showpiece event that we’ve all been waiting for. The Champions League Final will take place in Porto’s Estádio do Dragão on the 29th May, with Chelsea set to face Premier League champions Manchester City.

But how did they get there?

Manchester City have had an almost flawless Champions League campaign

Man City kicked off their Champions League campaign by scoring three goals in three consecutive games, establishing a lead in their group over Porto, Marseille and Olympiacos.

The one goal they conceded in their opener against Porto, was the only goal they conceded in the entire group stage.

Interestingly the only group game they failed to score in was a disappointing goalless draw in the same stadium that will host the Final.

After breezing through their group, Man City drew Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Round of 16. Unfortunately for the Bundesliga side, Gladbach’s name posed more a challenge to City than any of their players.

The Etihad outfit won both legs 2-0 and were once again pitted against German opposition for the Quarter-Final.

Borussia Dortmund were more difficult to beat and even managed to score a goal in each leg, but were ultimately unable to dominate in either game. Two 2-1 wins this time and City were starting to look like real contenders.

Man City finally escaped German opposition for the Semi-Final, but were instead paired against arguably the toughest side left in the Champions League. PSG boasted the likes of Neymar, Mbappe and Di Maria and made last year’s Final.

Yet the Parisians were no match for the Mancunians, who fuelled by Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne, made it to the Final with a fairly comfortable 3-1 aggregate victory. The ease with which they dispatched last year’s runners-up, makes them favorites on Saturday.

Chelsea have faced tougher opposition, but they haven’t had that many issues either

Chelsea’s route to Porto has been far bumpier. They stumbled to a 0-0 home draw with Sevilla in their opener, but did manage to score 13 goals in their next four games. That included emphatic wins over Krasnodar and Rennes, as well as an impressive 4-0 defeat of Sevilla in Spain.

The Blues won their group, but were matched with the notoriously difficult to beat Atletico Madrid for the Round of 16. Despite their reputation, the eventual La Liga champions posed little threat, with Chelsea proceeding 3-0 on aggregate.

N’Golo Kante was outstanding and looked to be back to his best.

The Quarter-Finals brought another stubborn side, but Porto were unable to halt Chelsea’s growing momentum. Porto were beaten too easily at home and despite a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge, were knocked out.

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Champions League statesmen Real Madrid came next and caused Chelsea their first real challenge of the competition. The Blues dominated both legs, but were never able to put the tie to bed. In the end though, not even the great Real Madrid could halt Chelsea’s progress.

The Blues have looked good in Europe this season, but will go into Saturday’s final as underdogs.

While Manchester City have looked to be the better team, you just can’t count Chelsea out at this stage. Chelsea have beaten the Champions twice in two meetings since Tuchel took over, and have been excellent in the Champions League.

Counting them out before the game even starts would be a mistake. It’s going to be an exciting game, and it’s very interesting to see how both managers handle it after their recent dress rehearsal.

Who do you think wins the Champions League this season? Let us know!