How Chelsea Became the New Champions Of Europe in 2021

Chelsea’s Road To The Final

Chelsea were drawn alongside Sevilla, Krasnodar and Rennes in Group F. They kicked off their campaign with an insipid goalless draw against Sevilla at Stamford Bridge, however, Frank Lampard who was at the reins as at that time, guided them to top of the group and they accrued 14 points, winning four games and drawing twice. Their last game against Sevilla in Spain saw Olivier Giroud score four stunning goals in Chelsea’s 4-0 win.

Up next in the knockout stage was a defensively efficacious Atletico Madrid garnished with a prolific goalscoring Luis Suarez in attack. That didn’t petrify newly appointed manager, Thomas Tuchel, and his audacious outfit as they won 3-0 on aggregate and marched on to tackle Portuguese giants, Porto in the quarter-final. Porto had eliminated Juventus in the round of 16 and were pretty confident ahead of the tie with Chelsea. In the end, they got bundled out by this irrepressible Chelsea side after losing 2-0 on home turf and managed a 1-0 win on the road.

Everyone thought this adventurous Chelsea side had reached their last bus stop when they came up against thirteen times European champions, Real Madrid in the semi-final. Only for them to secure a 1-1 draw in Spain and get the job done in England by winning 2-0. Mason Mount and Timo Werner were among the goals in the home tie against Real Madrid to overcome the Galacticos 3-1 on aggregate and set up an all-English final with Manchester City. Before the commencement of the final, Chelsea embraced the underdog tag.

Story Of Final Win Against Manchester City

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea sat back and absorbed the pressure from their fellow English opponents with Timo Werner fluffing his lines twice before the breakthrough finally came three minutes from half-time as Kai Havertz was a recipient of a defense splitting pass from Mason Mount. All the German had to do was to dribble past an onrushing Ederson in goal for City and slot it into an empty net. At the break, the Blues were tight at the back, got a goal, and were within touching distance of the trophy.

Although, veteran defender Thiago Silva left the pitch on 36 minutes, his replacement in the figure of Christensen was equal to the task as Manchester City were unable to break down a solid Chelsea defense.

With a mountain to climb in the second half, City continued their quest for an equalizer and the talismanic Kevin De Bruyne picked up an injury which forced him out of the pitch. Gabriel Jesus was brought on to replace him and Sergio Aguero was introduced as well. These changes couldn’t provide an answer as Chelsea held on to become the champions of Europe’s premier club competition in 2021 and they will go on to lock horns with Europa League winners, Villarreal in the UEFA Super Cup final. The win came with a slice of history for Chelsea goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy who became the first African goalkeeper to win the UEFA Champions League. Albeit, they will play as European champions in the next FIFA Club World Cup.

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