The UEFA Champions League 2020/21 came to an end with two of the best English teams – Manchester City and Chelsea playing the final in Porto. No team has won the Champions League in its first appearance in the final since 2000, and this trend continued, with Chelsea coming out on top and winning their second Champions League title.
Citys lineup saw a lot of scrutiny before the match, with most people wondering why Pep Guardiola had omitted a defensive midfielder from his lineup. However, City had issues all over the pitch as they were unable to come with Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea. This tactical analysis brings out the key tactics of both teams in the final and how they impacted the game.
Lineups
As mentioned earlier, there were a couple of surprises in Manchester City’s starting XI. Guardiola omitted both Fernandinho and Rodri from the XI, and this was only the second match this season where neither of those players had started for City. İlkay Gündoğan was played as the nominal defensive midfielder, with Phil Foden moving infield to accommodate Raheem Sterling on the left, who was another surprise pick.
Chelseas lineup was quite familiar, with Tuchel opting to use César Azpilicueta and Reece James in their usual positions at centre-back and wing-back respectively, rather than switching them as he had done in the last three games. Kai Havertz was a slightly questionable pick up front, but the German repaid his manager in a big way by scoring the only goal of the game.
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