UEFA Champions League Final 2021, Manchester City vs Chelsea Highlights: Chelsea’s Kai Havertz repaid some of his huge transfer fees as his first-half goal sealed a 1-0 win for his side over Manchester City in the Champions League final on Saturday. The German youngster, Chelsea’s record signing, latched on to Mason Mount’s pass and evaded City keeper Ederson before rolling the ball into an empty net in the 42nd minute. Premier League champions City were favorites ahead of the final but suffered a desperately disappointing night in Porto in what was their first Champions League final. READ MORE Man Utd to complete N’Golo Kante’s move in two days Pep Guardiola’s side was never allowed to play their normal fluent game and could not respond as a disciplined Chelsea sealed a second Champions League triumph. Watch the video below Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093
Man City v Chelsea – all you need to know about all-English Champions League final
It’s an all-English Champions League final – but will it be Manchester City or Chelsea who will be crowned champions of Europe on Saturday? Premier League champions City are looking to win the prestigious competition for the first time. Chelsea, European champions in 2012, have beaten Pep Guardiola’s side twice in the league and FA Cup in 2020-21. Up to 16,500 people will be allowed inside Porto’s Estadio do Dragao ground to watch. Both sides have fully fit squads to choose from, although City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan looked like he took a minor knock in Friday’s training session after a collision with Fernandinho. ‘Win you’re a hero – lose you’re almost a failure’ “I know exactly the way we want to play, with who we’re going to play and I’m not going to bother them much,” Guardiola said. “It’s an incredible experience to be here. I know exactly what I’m going to tell them. The guys who are anxious and nervous, I will tell them that’s normal. “I’m pretty sure we have to suffer to win the final. It’s nice to say enjoy it but sometimes it’s not possible. You have to be resilient and adjust.” City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne said: “If you win, you’re a hero. If you lose, you’re almost a failure. Coming to this stage is incredibly well done by the team but if you don’t win it’s something you don’t want to experience. “It’s been one of the goals of the club and the players. Being able to be there tomorrow [Saturday] and to perform on the highest stage in the world is something of a privilege.” City’s Spanish boss Guardiola is looking to win the Champions League for a third time after steering Barcelona to triumphs in 2009 and 2011. Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is seeking his first Champions League success. Last season, the German took Paris St-Germain to the final, losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich. “I have full trust that everybody wants it,” said Tuchel. “It is about hunger and always on the highest level in sport it comes down to how bad do you want it? I have felt us very concentrated, focused and disciplined in the build-up this week. “It’s always tough to play against City, Bayern or Barcelona when Pep is on the sidelines. He creates huge belief and success and has a huge winning mentality. “Maybe in the moment they are the strongest team in Europe, in the world, and they have built a huge gap between us in the league but we closed the gap for 90 minutes in Wembley and closed the gap again in Manchester.” The final will be decided on the day, with 30 minutes of extra time and then penalties if required. Each side will be allowed five substitutions, with a sixth permitted for each side if the final goes to extra time. Tuchel said: “The penalty shootout [in the Europa League final] was fantastic in terms of quality from the takers. I don’t think I have ever seen something like this – 20 penalties in a row with no miss and so well taken. “We have identified the guys who should take the penalties for us but I don’t know who is in the end on the pitch so we need to be well aware but if we go to penalties we go in together and out together.” The video assistant referee (VAR) system will be used, while City have been designated the ‘home’ team, which means they will play in their traditional sky blue and white colours. This year’s final will air in over 200 countries around the world, with the opening ceremony taking place about 10 minutes before the biggest game in European club football kicks off. § Champions League final: Pick your combined Man City v Chelsea XI § Chelsea return unsold Champions League final tickets § Champions League final: Should Uefa be more flexible for environmental reasons? § Guardiola does not care about referee § ‘Winning Champions League will acknowledge their greatness – Gullit on Foden & Mount Where is it taking place? The final was due to be staged at Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Turkey but was switched earlier this month to the Portuguese city of Porto because of coronavirus restrictions. Portugal is on England’s green list for travel, so players and fans can attend without having to quarantine on their return home. Turkey is on the red list. It is the second successive year the final has been held in Portugal, with Lisbon the location for the delayed final stages of last season’s competition. The Estadio do Dragao hosted the 2019 Nations League final and was built for Euro 2004. City have played at the venue in this season’s Champions League, with Pep Guardiola’s side held to a goalless draw by Porto in the group stage in December. Chelsea also played Porto on their way to the final but both legs of their quarter-final in April were played in Spain at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium because of coronavirus travel restrictions between Portugal and the UK at that time – the country was moved to the green list on 17 May. How many fans will be at final? The 2020 final between Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain was played behind closed doors in Lisbon. However, there will be up to 16,500 supporters present for this year’s edition – about one-third of Estadio do Dragao’s capacity – with Manchester City and Chelsea each receiving an allocation of approximately 6,000 tickets. Chelsea have returned more than 800 unsold tickets. There was a high demand for 2,800 tickets which were sold with independent travel. However, the unsold tickets were part of a charter package, which included subsidised flights at £200. Meanwhile, a further 1,700 tickets made available by Uefa for the general public sold out on Tuesday. How to follow on the BBC BBC Radio 5 Live will have full commentary of the final from 20:00 BST with commentator John Murray and former Chelsea and Blackburn striker Chris Sutton at the ground. Fans will be able to give
Chelsea sack Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard has been sacked by Chelsea on Monday following a dismal slump in form that sees them sit ninth in the Premier League table. The players were told not to come to the training ground until Monday afternoon as Lampard becomes the 10th manager sacked during the Roman Abramovich era. Confirmation of his sacking came just before 11.30am on Monday after the club took decisive action following a torrid run of five losses in eight league games. Sunday’s win over Luton Town to advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup hasn’t proved enough to save the former midfielder from the chop. The former Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel is in prime position to replace Lampard with talks at an advanced stage. It will mean another pay-off for owner Abramovich with Lampard earning £4million a year. His contract ran until 2022. The club statement confirming the sacking read: ‘This has been a very difficult decision, and not one that the owner and the Board have taken lightly. ‘We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as Head Coach of the Club. ‘However, recent results and performances have not met the Club’s expectations, leaving the Club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement. ‘There can never be a good time to part ways with a club legend such as Frank, but after lengthy deliberation and consideration it was decided a change is needed now to give the Club time to improve performances and results this season.’ Abramovich said: ‘This was a very difficult decision for the Club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him’. ‘He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers. ‘On behalf of everyone at the Club, the Board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as Head Coach and wish him every success in the future. ‘He is an important icon of this great club and his status here remains undiminished. He will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.’ A dreadful run of league form has seen the Blues lose five of their last eight Premier League matches, leaving them well out of the title picture. The slump in form led to mounting pressure on Stamford Bridge favourite Lampard. It came after Lampard said the win over Luton on Sunday would ‘bring a nice air of positivity’ to the club. He said: ‘People will look very close at the moment but I need to see a bigger picture. This was an important result because it brings a nice air of positivity to the club. We want to win more points in league. That’s where we are at. ‘It’s nice for us in the short term, the scrutiny on a club like this is normal. When you’re off it slightly the only focus should only be on changing the form. We just go again.’ Talks with Tuchel, who is a free agent following his sacking at PSG in late December, are underway with the German emerging as a prime contender to replace Lampard. RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann has admirers in the Blues boardroom, but there are concerns over whether he would leave his current employers mid-season. That would pave the way for Tuchel to be appointed now and he could be in charge for their home game against Wolves on Wednesday night. Chelsea have been warned off Tuchel, 47, in the past after run-ins with previous employers Borussia Dortmund and PSG but that doesn’t seem to be a factor now. Lampard was only 18 months into his time as Chelsea manager. He steered them to a fourth placed finish last season and also to the final of the FA Cup. But despite massive investment of £222million in new players, they have been unable to mount a challenge at the top of the table. The current seasons started promisingly enough, with Chelsea embarking on a 14-match unbeaten run through the autumn and making serene progress through their Champions League group. Chelsea have been warned off Tuchel, 47, in the past after run-ins with previous employers Borussia Dortmund and PSG but that doesn’t seem to be a factor now. Lampard was only 18 months into his time as Chelsea manager. He steered them to a fourth placed finish last season and also to the final of the FA Cup. But despite massive investment of £222million in new players, they have been unable to mount a challenge at the top of the table. The current seasons started promisingly enough, with Chelsea embarking on a 14-match unbeaten run through the autumn and making serene progress through their Champions League group. Dailymail Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093









