With Manchester City and Chelsea both qualifying for the UEFA Champions League finals, it is only a matter of time before they face each other for the ultimate battle. But, fate has brought them together prior to that! Man City played against Chelsea at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, 8th May.
When Premier League is the Champions League
Both the teams’ managers and players have shown great talent. Pep Guardiola aims for the Champions League trophy after a decade with Man City, and Tuchel is trying to win the same in his first attempt to manage Chelsea. With Manchester City already ahead in the Premier League, they will surely win this title. But yesterday saw a great day when the same final fixture was played in the Premier League. The game was a home match for Manchester City.
While Thomas Tuchel decided to not make any changes to the squad, Pep Guardiola came with a whole different setup. Manchester City, who plays a false striker strategy, uses midfield players as forwards. But yesterday, City arrived with two strikers side by side, with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus playing together.
Notable absentees in the squad were Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez. These two players did a lot to bring City to this stage. On the other hand, Chelsea used most of their top players, with Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, and Timo Werner all on the pitch.
Match Results
Manchester City took the lead in the 44th minute, thanks to a beautiful ball from Aguero and a strike by Raheem Sterling. But within a couple of minutes, the number 10, Sergio Aguero, missed a penalty kick, thus missing a huge scoring opportunity.
Chelsea came back with a bang in the second half. The team responded with good teamwork and a goal by Hakim Ziyech in the 63rd minute. They finally sealed victory at the 92nd minute during injury time, when Marcos Alonso successfully put the ball in the net.
This 2-1 comeback victory at Etihad is sure to give Chelsea a confidence boost as they prepare to meet again on 29th May.
Both Teams So Far
Manchester City started this season with some bad results, but Pep quickly made it a memorable one. Manchester City did not lose a single match for over five months, and is now 10 points ahead of Manchester United, having played an extra game. Chelsea is, however, not so lucky this season, as the team went through a manager change. Frank Lampard was replaced by Thomas Tuchel as the manager of the club. They are currently at 3rd position, with 6 points below Manchester United.
With both the teams having enough potential to win the Champions League, it is only a matter of time before we know who will take the trophy home.
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