UEFA Champions League: Manchester City v Chelsea 2021 final

The 2020/21 UEFA Champions League final in Porto pitted Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions Manchester City against the team which finished fourth in England's top flight - Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea.

2021 UEFA Champions League final date, time and venue

The 2021 UEFA Champions League final took place at 20:00 BST on Saturday 29th May 2021 at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, Portugal.

2021 UEFA Champions League final teams

Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva (Fernandinho 64'), Foden, Mahrez, De Bruyne (Jesus 60'), Sterling (Aguero 77').

Substitutes: Steffen, Carson, Ake, Laporte, Mendy, Cancelo, Garcia, Rodri, Torres.

Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Mendy, Azpilicueta (c), Thiago Silva (Christensen 39'), Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kante, Chilwell, Havertz, Mount (Kovacic 80'), Werner (Pulisic 66').

Substitutes: Kepa, Caballero, Alonso, Zouma, Emerson, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Gilmour, Giroud.

Attendance: 14,110

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

2021 UEFA Champions League final score and goalscorers

The 2021 UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City v Chelsea at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto finished 1-0 to Chelsea, with German forward Kai Havertz scoring the winning goal in the 42nd minute of the contest.

Manchester City v Chelsea story of the final

As the freshly crowned Premier League champions, winning England's top flight for the third time in four years, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City entered the 2021 UEFA Champions League final as significant favourites over Chelsea.

Five years into his reign at the Etihad, the UEFA Champions League was the one major prize which continued to elude Guardiola and his all-conquering juggernaut of a Man City side.

The context on the opposing corner was markedly different, with Chelsea entering the at the conclusion of a season which had seen club legend Frank Lampard relieved of his duties as manager in January 2021 with the Blues languishing in ninth place in the Premier League.

Although Lampard's successor Tuchel was able to make a phenomenal impact at Stamford Bridge, steering the club to a fourth-placed finish in England's top flight, the Blues remained sizeable underdogs against an outstanding Man City side in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final.

The headline team news on the eve of the showpiece came from the City ranks, with Guardiola surprisingly opting to start without a natural holding midfielder, with Rodri and Fernandinho both left on the bench.

Ilkay Gundogan was trusted to play as City's deepest midfielder on the night, with Kevin De Bruyne flanked by Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling in a false nine role.

Perhaps as a result of Guardiola's unexpected tactical setup, the latest in a long line of perceived instances of overthinking from the Catalan in crunch UEFA Champions League ties, City were far from their fluid best in Porto.

Chelsea, on the other hand, appeared assured in their 3-4-2-1 shape expertly assembled under the guidance of former Borussia Dortmund and PSG boss Tuchel.

In a relatively quiet first half, both teams were able to create half-chances, with Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden both close to making the breakthrough for the Citizens and Timo Werner spurning a presentable chance for the Londoners.

A first potentially telling moment arrived in the 39th minute of the final when Chelsea's Thiago Silva was forced to be replaced by Andreas Christensen at the heart of the Blues' defence due to a hamstring injury.

No doubt rocked by Silva's withdrawal, Chelsea were able to pick themselves up quickly to open the scoring in the 42nd minute.

Making a run in behind the City rearguard, Havertz beat an onrushing Ederson to a Mason Mount through ball before calmly slotting into an empty net.

Set up to be organised and difficult to score against under Tuchel, a one-goal gave Chelsea something to hold on to in the second period in what ultimately transpired to be a night of supreme frustration for City.

A nasty facial injury suffered by Kevin De Bruyne just prior to the hour mark made matters even worse for City, with the Premier League champions' key creative threat withdrawn for Gabriel Jesus.

In spite of City pushing to grab an equaliser, it was Chelsea who ultimately came closest to finding a second goal with Christian Pulisic dragging wide from close range after being supplied by Havertz.

Although Guardiola's side were able to dominate the ball as usual, enjoying 61% possession, the fact they could only muster one shot on target throughout the 90 minutes signified the robustness of Chelsea's performance on the night.

With the dynamic pairing of Reece James and Ben Chilwell galloping down either flank as wing-backs, and the perfectly dovetailing N'Golo Kante and Jorginho patrolling the middle of the park, Tuchel had stumbled upon a formula that even the great Guardiola could not work out.

Although backed by a smaller contingent of Chelsea supporters than usual in Porto amidst the global pandemic, the 29th May 2021 will forever be a date etched in Blues folklore as the club sealed its second UEFA Champions League crown against the odds.

Manchester City v Chelsea stats

	Manchester City	Chelsea
Goals	0	1
Expected Goals	0.52	1.59
Shots	7	8
Shots on Target	1	2
Possession	61%	39%
Corners	3	1
Fouls	14	13
Offsides	1	3
Yellow cards	2	1
Red cards	0	0

Manchester City v Chelsea Man of the Match

Chelsea's tireless midfield general N'Golo Kante was named Man of the Match in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final, with the Frenchman delivering an all-action performance in the Blues' engine room.

Check out the bet365 betting hub for all the latest UEFA Champions League betting odds.