Reaching the Champions League Final is no mean feat. Chelsea and Manchester City have both accomplished great things in reaching the pinnacle of club football, but only one team can win. Continuing our Champions League build-up, we’ll look at who needs this win more.
Are we going to witness a Manchester City triple?
Man City capped a brilliant domestic season by lifting the Premier League trophy at the Etihad on Sunday. They’ve already added their fourth consecutive Carabao Cup, with a comfortable win over Spurs at Wembley. Yet there is one trophy that continues to elude them.
The Premier League champions will be appearing in their first Champions League Final and have their minds set on securing a historic treble. In many ways City are a couple of cycles behind Chelsea, having been taken over by wealthy owners desperate for continental success.
A win on Europe’s greatest stage would finally achieve that aim.
🗣 "Congratulations for Chelsea, the two games they beat us. This is another competition."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 24, 2021
Pep Guardiola is not bothered about Chelsea winning in their last two meetings pic.twitter.com/CAY2nmiEhj
The man those owners have turned to – Pep Guardiola – will make his return to an elite European final for the first time since 2011, when his Barcelona team crushed the red side of Manchester at Wembley.
For a manager widely regarded as one of the greatest ever, ten years is a long time to be away from the greatest occasion in club football.
The chance to win this competition with City clearly means a lot to Guardiola, so he’ll be hoping to maintain his 100% record in the Champions League Finals.
Could another miracle be on the cards for Chelsea?
Despite being the underdogs, Chelsea go into this game as the more experienced club. Their fans will never forget the heartbreak of Moscow, nor the elation of Munich.
Chelsea stumbled over the line in the Premier League and needed Spurs to bail them out in the end. They’ll be itching to show that they deserve their place back in Europe’s elite.
This season has huge similarities from Chelsea’s previous Champions League win – they sacked their manager halfway through the season for starters.
Roman Abramovich has never shied away from making big calls and he’ll be hoping his decision to sack club legend Frank Lampard is vindicated with a win on Saturday.
The man Lampard was replaced with – Thomas Tuchel – will have some motivation of his own. Having lost the final last year as PSG manager, he’ll be desperate to set the record straight and lift this famous trophy.
He has changed the fortunes of the team since his arrival, and has a legitimate chance of lifting the trophy.
Chelsea's players are off today. Not Thomas Tuchel. He and his coaching team will be at Cobham and drawing up their game plan to win the #UCLfinal https://t.co/HDbPN6fB3z
— Adam Newson (@AdamNewson) May 25, 2021
The Champions League Final will matter to both of these clubs hugely. To think otherwise would be ridiculous. However, in an elite setting such as this, it comes down to fine margins.
This game may well be won by whichever team wants it more.