10 amazing facts from the UEFA Champions League final

By Shambhu Ajith
Modified Jun 01, 2021 06:25 GMT
N'Golo Kante produced a brilliant performance in the final
N'Golo Kante produced a brilliant performance in the final

Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 to win their second UEFA Champions League title on Saturday. Thomas Tuchel's men toiled all night and produced a great display of teamwork to keep Manchester City at bay and deny them the most coveted prize in European football.

Questions are being asked about Pep Guardiola's team selection but Manchester City started the game on the front foot. However, Chelsea were set up to absorb the pressure and break on the counter.

They did that effectively and a brilliant Mason Mount through ball through the centre of the park was finished off by Kai Havertz in the 42nd minute to give Chelsea the lead. They defended resolutely and for all of Manchester City's attacking enterprise, they hardly troubled Edouard Mendy on the night.

Manchester City were outplayed by Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final

It was a tough pill to swallow for Pep Guardiola and his players. Thomas Tuchel, who recently lost the 2019-20 Champions League final against Bayern Munich with Paris Saint-Germain, has found redemption with his young Chelsea side.

Without further ado, let's take a look at 10 amazing facts from the UEFA Champions League final.

#10 Edouard Mendy kept nine cleansheets in the 2020-21 Champions League

Edouard Mendy wasn't tested at all last night. Manchester City did mount a few promising attacks but they only registered one shot on target. Chelsea's defence under Thomas Tuchel has been exemplary and if at all anything breaches their backline, Mendy will be there to keep it out.

#9 This was Pep Guardiola's first loss in a Champions League final

Choosing to go without a defensive midfielder cost Pep Guardiola dearly on Saturday. He changed his system on the biggest night of the season and it came to bite him in the back.

Prior to Saturday, Pep had guided Barcelona to two Champions League titles during his first stint as manager. His side beat Manchester United on both occasions.

#8 Mason Mount has done England proud

Wes Brown's lovely cross was headed home by Cristiano Ronaldo to give Manchester United the lead over Chelsea in the 2007-08 Champions League final. Since then, no English player has assisted a goal in the final of the competition. Mason Mount successfully put that record to rest last night with a brilliant through ball to set up Havertz for Chelsea's only goal on the night.

#7 Thomas Tuchel won his third consecutive match against Pep Guardiola

Thomas Tuchel has put one over on Guardiola for the third time since taking the reins at Chelsea. His first win over Manchester City came in the FA Cup semi-final in April. Chelsea beat Manchester City again on the 8th of May to delay their coronation in the Premier League.

But Saturday's win would be the sweetest of them all. He has now become only the second manager to meet Pep Guardiola in three consecutive meetings.

#6 All of the last three Champions League titles have been won by German managers

Germany has always produced some of the best footballers in the world. Their coaches are now dominating the Champions League. Jurgen Klopp won Europe's most prestigious title in 2019 with Liverpool. Hans-Dieter Flick triumphed in 2020 with Bayern Munich.

Thomas Tuchel started the season as the manager of Paris Saint-Germain. He was sacked from there in January. Tuchel then took over at Chelsea and transformed the struggling side into Champions League winners. So the win against Manchester City would have been extra sweet.

#5 Chelsea have delivered on the big occasion once again

Chelsea have been quite a force to be reckoned with on the big stage. Their players seem to step up at the right time and that came in handy on Saturday as well. The only European Cup final they lost was in the 2007-08 season when Manchester United beat them in a shootout.

#4 Kai Havertz scored the biggest goal of his debut season for Chelsea

Kai Havertz had been written off as a flop signing by the time Frank Lampard was given the sack. But his impact under Thomas Tuchel has been incredible. Havertz was excellent against Chelsea with his direct running and ability to flit past defenders causing a lot of problems for the Manchester City defence.

Havertz latched on to a brilliant Mason Mount through ball and poked the ball past a charging Ederson and passed it into the net. It was the German international's first goal of the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League and it couldn't have come at a better time.

#3 Pep Guardiola has lost to Chelsea eight times

The tweet was published before Manchester City lost this year's Champions League final. Guardiola has now lost eight matches against Chelsea. He has not lost more games to any other opposition in his managerial career so far.

#2 N'Golo Kante produced yet another special performance in the Champions League final

N'Golo Kante produced a performance for the ages on Saturday. He was everywhere once again, snuffing out attacks and winning the ball back in dangerous areas. The Frenchman's tactical intelligence is on a different level as he always seems to know where to be on the football pitch.

He also completed 100% of his tackles and 100% of his take-ons against Manchester City. Kante was Chelsea's best player on the pitch.

#1 This was Pep Guardiola's first loss in a final as the manager of Manchester City

Pep Guardiola has certainly transformed this Manchester City side into serial winners. They were able to win all eight of their major cup finals under the Spanish coach before Saturday night's tie against Chelsea.

Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel lost his first major cup final as Chelsea manager. The Blues lost to Leicester City in the FA Cup final a couple of weeks back.

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