Chelsea lift the Champions League against a rookie City
The image of Guardiola kissing the runners-up medal is a way of honouring football. A guy as smart for the sport as he is ill-advised with the political causes he embraces. Pep and his players respected the persea and did not take it off when Ceferin put it around his neck. The runners-up have lost a final. And playing in a final is a prize in itself, although we know that nobody remembers the runners-up, as Luis Aragones would say.
Porto's Dragon Stadium not only hosted the Champions League final between two English teams, it was a welcome to the public in the stands and a new way of putting on a show before the match. That mix that UEFA likes so much: some tickets for the fans; many more for them and their sponsors and a great sound and light show spiced with music 'Made in USA' in this case thanks to Marshmello, Selena Gómez and Khalid. A virtual gala because the singers were not in Oporto, but thanks to the technology the immersion was total and perfect. That leaves a lot of options for the future.
Thomas Tuchel signed his contract with PSG in December 2020 and by January 2021 he was coach of another tycoon, Roman Abramovich's Chelsea. He arrived in London wounded by his failure to complete his work in Paris and set about the task of shaping a team with a lot of potential. Mount, Havertz, Kanté, Chilwell, Pulisic... young players who had to be squeezed. Chelsea finished fourth in the Premiership, but they beat Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in the Champions League. This shows that English football is starting to distance itself from Spanish football.
In four months Chelsea have become like Simeone's Atlético de Madrid in his best defensive days. Rocky, hard, desperate, impossible... but with pace and goals up front thanks to some unleashed players and a Timo Werner in tune with what he was signed to do: score goals. That football team-shaped rock turned into a knife when Mount's pass ripped through the City defence and Havertz rounded Ederson to score the first. It was the 42nd minute, a psychological goal that the experts in football mental health like Guardiola and his deputy, Juanma Lillo, were unable to lift.
One goal, one Champions League. Something that only Mijatovic can boast when he gave the Seventh to Real Madrid and, now, Havartz with the second of the "blue" team. Guardiola could not find the way to the goal. The one he has spent years researching as if he were a professor of the beautiful game. His game has changed, from Barça to Bayern and now to City. The ball is the boss, but up front it is not the same to have Messi, Ribery or Sterling.
De Bruyne's injury had balanced Silva's injury a few minutes earlier. Two important pillars had to leave the pitch. The goalkeepers did not work too hard. One shot on target for City and two for Chelsea. Edouard Mendy, Chelsea's Senegalese becomes the first African goalkeeper to lift the European Cup. He took Kepa's place and makes things even more difficult for Luis Enrique ahead of the European Championship.
The Spaniards have a lot to play for in the final in Porto. Mateu Lahoz was crowned as the best referee that Spain has given to world football with the permission of the ill-fated Guruceta. He saw the hand-chest, but didn't whistle it because football can be modern, but it can't become a continuous joke.
On the players' side, Spain has a problem. Azpilicueta lifted the trophy, played and led his team. Of the rest of the players called up by Luis Enrique for Euro 2020, there was no sign. Eric García, Laport, Rodri and Ferran Torres did not play in the final. Except for Rodri, the rest will go to a tournament without minutes at City and with more projection than present.
The final of the Champions League 20-21 brought football and society back together again. It brought us back to the normality we once had and leaves us with an encouraging future. Football continues to be a good social thermometer.
