Chelsea vs Manchester City: Unexpected UCL match winners

With just a couple of days before the Champions League Final, tension is rising in Manchester and London. Both Chelsea and Manchester City have world-class talents, capable of grabbing any game by the scruff of its neck and dominating the opposition.

However, trophies are not won by individuals, they’re earned by teams. These are the Champions League unexpected match winners.

Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta

Defenders are not often perceived as match winners. Matches can’t be won without them, of course, but they’re typically thought of as the ones to turn to when seeing a game out. In that regard, Cesar Azpilicueta is a superb presence, but there’s more to him than meets the eye.

The Spaniard joined Chelsea back in 2012 and has made 288 Premier League starts for the club. He’s regularly been described as the best one-on-one defender in the league, but his attacking exploits are often forgotten.

Azpilicueta gets big goals – he scored the first of Thomas Tuchel’s reign and tends to pop up when his side need him the most. He’s also laid on 33 assists in his time in the Premier League, which is incredible considering he’s spent much of that on the right side of a back three.

If he can contribute against City, he could definitely win the game for the Blues.

Manchester City’s Ederson

As far as unexpected match winners go, Ederson ranks pretty highly on the list. His ability with the ball at his feet is world-renowned, but it’s often forgotten just how good a shot-stopper he is. In four seasons at Man City, he’s kept a hugely impressive 77 clean sheets.

Ederson will need to be at this best to keep the ball out of the back of his net on Saturday, but he’s also likely to impact City’s attacking play. His distribution is world-class, as demonstrated by his Semi-Final performance against PSG.

Chelsea like to keep things tight under Tuchel, so Ederson’s ability to pick a pass from the back, could well be the deciding factor.

Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz

The title of this article is ‘unexpected Champions League match winners’, so you can’t say you weren’t warned…

This is a strange choice to include on this list, I’ll admit, but I stand by it nonetheless. Pep Guardiola isn’t exactly known for keeping his emotions in check on the sidelines.

There have been several occasions over the years where he’s reacted badly to refereeing decisions and blamed the officials for his side’s shortcomings.

Antonio Mateu Lahoz has been involved in disputes with the City boss before, and will therefore be under the spotlight even more than he normally would.

With fans back in stadiums, referees are now under more pressure than ever before, so don’t be surprised to see the man in the middle become the centre of attention.

With both Chelsea and Manchester City packed full of star names, the focus will be on some of the more stand-out personalities in Porto on Saturday. The stage is set for someone unexpected to step up, make the difference and bring the Champions League home.