Manchester City vs Chelsea: UEFA Champions League background, form guide, previous meetings
Manchester City’s first final pits them against domestic rivals Chelsea, who are in the decider for the third time and looking to add to their 2012 triumph.
Manchester City’s first UEFA Champions League final pits them against domestic rivals Chelsea, who are in the decider for the third time and looking to add to their 2012 triumph.
• This is side’s first European meeting in 50 years, but both have already endured plenty of UEFA Champions League heartache at the hands of Premier League sides, City being eliminated by domestic rivals in 2018 and 2019 while Chelsea’s first final appearance ended in defeat by familiar foes.
• This is the third all-English UEFA Champions League final, Chelsea having been involved in the first, when they lost on penalties to Manchester United in Moscow in 2008. Two years ago, Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid.
• There have been seven previous UEFA Champions League finals between clubs from the same country, all since 2000. Real Madrid were victorious in all-Spanish affairs in 2000 (Valencia), 2014 and 2016 (both Atlético de Madrid) while AC Milan beat fellow Italian side Juventus on penalties in 2003 and Bayern München overcame Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 all-German final.
• City are the ninth English club to appear in a European Cup final, more than any other country; Italy and Germany are next on the list with six each.
• This final will now be held at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, the venue for City’s goalless draw against the local side in the group stage – the only game they have failed to win in this season’s competition – and where Chelsea have won only once in four attempts.
• City and Chelsea have both conceded just four goals en route to this final, the lowest total for the two finalists since Barcelona (four goals against) took on Arsenal (two) in the 2006 decider. Neither side have conceded more than once in a UEFA Champions League game in 2020/21.
Final pedigree
Manchester City
• City are the 42nd club to reach the European Cup final, and the third newcomers in successive seasons after Tottenham in 2019 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2020. They are the 21st team to reach the UEFA Champions League final.
• City could become the 23rd side to win the European Cup, and the first new name on the trophy since Chelsea’s 2012 triumph.
• This is City’s second European final. They beat Polish club Górnik Zabrze 2-1 at Vienna’s Prater Stadion in the 1969/70 European Cup Winners’ Cup final.
• Josep Guardiola, a winner with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, could become the sixth coach to win the European Cup with two different clubs, after Ernst Happel (Feyenoord 1970, Hamburg 1983), Ottmar Hitzfeld (Borussia Dortmund 1997, Bayern München 2001), José Mourinho (Porto 2004, Internazionale 2010), Jupp Heynckes (Real Madrid 1998, Bayern 2013) and Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan 2003, 2007, Real Madrid 2014).
• İlkay Gündoğan is the only member of the City squad who has previously played in the UEFA Champions League final. Having scored Dortmund’s goal from the penalty spot in their 2-1 defeat by Bayern in 2013, he could become the fourth player to find the net for different clubs in the European Cup final. Velibor Vasović (Partizan 1966, Ajax 1969), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United 2008, Real Madrid 2014, 2017) and Mario Mandžukić (Bayern 2013, Juventus 2017) have all previously managed it.
Chelsea
• This is Chelsea’s third UEFA Champions League final, with both previous appearances decided by penalties (W1 L1):
2008 Manchester United L 1-1 (aet, 5-6 pens), Moscow
2012 Bayern München W 1-1 (aet, 4-3 pens), Munich
• Thomas Tuchel led Paris Saint-Germain to last season’s final, where they were beaten 1-0 by Bayern in Lisbon; he is the first man to take two different clubs to the European Cup final in successive seasons.
• Thiago Silva was captain of the Paris side that lost in last season’s final; he is the only Chelsea player to have appeared in the UEFA Champions League decider.
• Mateo Kovačić was an unused substitute in Real Madrid’s final wins in 2017 and 2018; he also made eight appearances in their victorious 2015/16 campaign, but missed out on the matchday squad for the final.
• In addition to their two UEFA Champions League appearances, Chelsea were also victorious in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup finals in 1971 (2-1 replay vs Real Madrid) and 1998 (1-0 vs Stuttgart) and the UEFA Europa League finals in 2013 (2-1 vs Benfica) and 2019 (4-1 vs Arsenal). They also won the UEFA Super Cup in 1998, but lost the match in 2012, 2013 and 2019, the latter a defeat by Liverpool on penalties after a 2-2 draw in Istanbul.
Previous meetings
• The sides have met in one previous UEFA club competition tie, in the 1970/71 European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals. Chelsea won 1-0 in both legs against holders City, Derek Smethurst scoring the only goal of the Stamford Bridge first leg in the 46th minute, before a 43rd-minute Ron Healey own goal earned the visitors victory at City’s former home Maine Road. Chelsea went on to succeed their fellow English side as competition winners, beating Real Madrid after a final replay.
• This is the clubs’ fourth match of the season, with Chelsea having won two of the previous three, including a 2-1 victory at the City of Manchester Stadium on 8 May at the end of the week in which both teams reached this final. Marcos Alonso scored an added-time winner, Hakim Ziyech (63) having cancelled out Raheem Sterling’s 44th-minute opener; Sergio Agüero also had a penalty saved by Edouard Mendy as City were denied the win that would have clinched the Premier League title.
• Tuchel’s side also beat City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on 17 April, Ziyech scoring the only goal ten minutes into the second half.
• Guardiola’s side had run out 3-1 winners at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on 3 January thanks to first-half goals from Gündoğan (18), Phil Foden (21) and Kevin De Bruyne (34); Callum Hudson-Odoi’s 90th-minute consolation was all a Chelsea side managed by Frank Lampard could manage.
• Overall, Chelsea have recorded 68 wins against City, who have won 58 of the clubs’ past meetings with 40 draws. Chelsea have been triumphant in three of the last four games between the teams.
• The clubs met in the 2018/19 English League Cup final, with City prevailing 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw at Wembley. Gündoğan, Agüero, Bernardo Silva and Sterling all converted in the shoot-out for City, with César Azpilicueta, Emerson and Eden Hazard doing likewise for Chelsea; however, although Leroy Sané had his penalty saved by Kepa, Jorginho’s kick was saved by Ederson and David Luiz hit the post for Chelsea.
• The teams have contested only one other cup final, the inaugural Full Members’ Cup – a competition for clubs in England’s top two divisions – in 1985/86. Chelsea were 5-4 winners at Wembley, David Speedie scoring a hat-trick and Colin Lee twice.
Form guide
Manchester City
• Aside from their matches against Chelsea in 1971, City have met English opponents only twice in UEFA competition, both in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, and lost both ties on aggregate. They were beaten 3-0 away and 2-1 at home by Liverpool in 2017/18, Gabriel Jesus scoring their only goal, before an away goals defeat by Tottenham the following season. City lost 1-0 away and bowed out despite Sterling scoring twice and Bernardo Silva and Agüero once each to secure a second-leg victory.
• That 4-3 home win against Spurs is therefore City’s only victory in their six European matches against English clubs (L5).
• City scored three goals in each of their first three Group C victories this season, beating Porto (3-1), Marseille and Olympiacos (both 3-0) before a 1-0 win in Greece on Matchday 4 secured progress. A goalless draw in Porto in their penultimate fixture confirmed City in first place before a closing 3-0 win at home to Marseille.
• Guardiola’s side then beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 twice in the round of 16, with both games played in Budapest, before defeating Dortmund 2-1 home and away in the quarter-finals. They overcame last season’s runners-up Paris in the last four (2-1 a, 2-0 h) to make it seven successive victories – the first English club to achieve that in the European Cup.
• City are also the first English club to win 11 matches in a European Cup campaign. They are one victory away from equalling Real Madrid’s competition record of 12, set in their victorious 2001/02 campaign.
• The goal scored by Dortmund’s Marco Reus in the 84th minute of the quarter-final first leg ended City’s run without conceding a UEFA Champions League goal at 790 minutes, since Luis Díaz’s 14th-minute opener for Porto on Matchday 1. The record for the competition, set by Arsenal in 2005/06, is 995 minutes, with City now second in the all-time rankings having moved above Juventus (690 minutes).
• City finished second in the 2019/20 Premier League and bowed out of the UEFA Champions League at the quarter-final stage for the third season running, going down 3-1 against Lyon in their one-off tie in Lisbon. They had finished first in their group with 14 points (W4 D2) before seeing off Real Madrid in the last 16, winning 2-1 away and at home against the 13-time European champions.
• This is the Cityzens’ tenth UEFA Champions League campaign; they have been involved every season since 2011/12.
• City have scored 60 goals in their last 25 UEFA Champions League matches; over the last three seasons their record is W24 D4 L3 with 76 goals scored and 25 conceded.
• The Matchday 5 draw at Porto made City’s record in Portugal W1 D2 L1; that was their second game at the Dragão, the first having ended in a 2-1 victory against Porto in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League round of 32 thanks to an 85th-minute Agüero winner.
• City’s record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L0:
4-2 v Midtjylland, 2008/09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round
4-3 v Aalborg, 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16
Chelsea
• This is Chelsea’s fourth European final against an English club. After losing to Manchester United in the 2008 UEFA Champions League, they were 4-1 victors against Arsenal in the 2019 UEFA Europa League but lost that year’s UEFA Super Cup to Liverpool 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in Istanbul.
• Chelsea’s record against English clubs in Europe is W7 D8 L4. The 2019 defeat of Arsenal is their only victory in their last five matches (D2 L2), although overall they have won five of their ten knockout ties.
• This season, Chelsea made smooth progress through Group E, winning all three away games and dropping points only in their first and last fixtures, at home to Sevilla (0-0) and Krasnodar (1-1) respectively. Rennes were beaten 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and on their travels the English club picked up maximum points at Krasnodar (4-0), Rennes (2-1) and Sevilla (4-0); the latter result made sure of first place in the section, Olivier Giroud becoming the first Chelsea player to score four times in a European Cup match – and at 34 years 63 days the oldest hat-trick scorer in UEFA Champions League history.
• With Tuchel having replaced Frank Lampard as head coach, Chelsea then eased past Atlético de Madrid in the round of 16, winning 1-0 in Bucharest before a 2-0 home victory, and held off Porto in the last eight (2-0 a, 0-1 h) with both matches played in Seville. Chelsea then got the better of Real Madrid in the semi-finals (1-1 a, 2-0 h).
• Fourth in the Premier League in 2019/20, this is Chelsea’s 17th venture into the UEFA Champions League and a third in four years. The exception came in 2018/19, when they won the UEFA Europa League under Maurizio Sarri.
• Last season Lampard’s side recovered from a Matchday 1 defeat at home to Valencia (0-1) to progress as Group H runners-up with 11 points, finishing behind the Spanish side on head-to-head record, before losing to eventual champions Bayern (0-3 h, 1-4 a) in the last 16.
• This season’s eight victories have made it 11 wins in Chelsea’s last 19 UEFA Champions League matches (D5 L3).
• Mendy has kept eight clean sheets in 11 UEFA Champions League matches this season, the most in a campaign by a goalkeeper for an English side in the competition’s history – one more than Manchester City’s Ederson.
• This is Chelsea’s fifth game at the Dragão, where their record is W1 D1 L2, the most recent visit to both the city and the country ending in a 2-1 defeat by Porto in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League group stage. The Blues’ record in Portugal is W3 D1 L2.
• Chelsea’s record in six UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L4:
1-4 v Liverpool, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-6 v Manchester United, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League final
4-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League final
4-5 v Bayern München, 2013 UEFA Super Cup
4-3 v Eintracht Frankfurt, 2018/19 UEFA Europa League semi-final
4-5 v Liverpool, 2019 UEFA Super Cup
Links and trivia
• Tuchel had never beaten Guardiola as a coach before taking charge of Chelsea. His record against the Spaniard with Mainz and Dortmund was D2 L3 with two goals scored and 11 conceded. The most recent meeting before Tuchel’s two wins against City this season came in the 2015/16 German Cup final, Bayern winning on penalties after a goalless draw in what was Guardiola’s last match in charge prior to taking over at City.
• De Bruyne signed for Chelsea from Genk in January 2012, completing the rest of that season with the Belgian club before moving to London. However, he made only nine appearances for the club in all competitions – three of them coming in the UEFA Champions League group stage in autumn 2013 – spending 2012/13 on loan with Werder Bremen before returning to Germany to join Wolfsburg in a permanent switch in January 2014.
• Chelsea reserve goalkeeper Willy Caballero made 48 appearances for City over three seasons between 2014 and 2017. He saved three penalties in the shoot-out victory against Liverpool in the 2015/16 English League Cup final, his sole silverware in Manchester.
• Nathan Aké joined Chelsea in 2010 but made only 17 appearances for the club in all competitions before joining Bournemouth in a permanent switch in 2017. He was an unused substitute in Chelsea’s wins in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League final and 2014/15 English League Cup final, and was also on the bench for the FA Cup final loss to Arsenal in 2017.
• International team-mates:
John Stones, Kyle Walker, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling & Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham (England)
Eric García, Rodri, Ferran Torres & Kepa, Marcos Alonso, César Azpilicueta (Spain)
Benjamin Mendy & Kurt Zouma, N’Golo Kanté, Olivier Giroud (France)
İlkay Gündoğan & Antonio Rüdiger, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz (Germany)
Ederson, Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus & Thiago Silva (Brazil)
Zack Steffen & Christian Pulišić (United States)
• Sergio Agüero and Caballero were briefly Argentina team-mates in 2018.
• Have played together:
César Azpilicueta & Kevin De Bruyne (Chelsea 2013)
Riyad Mahrez & N’Golo Kanté (Leicester 2015/16)
Riyad Mahrez & Ben Chilwell (Leicester 2016–18)
Aymeric Laporte & Kepa (Athletic Club 2016–18)
İlkay Gündoğan & Christian Pulišić (Borussia Dortmund 2015/16)
• Mahrez and Kanté were team-mates in the Leicester side that claimed the Premier League title in 2015/16, Kanté’s sole season with the club; he played in 37 of the 38 league matches, while Mahrez scored 17 goals in his 37 Premier League appearances that season.
• Tuchel was Gündoğan’s head coach at Dortmund in 2015/16.
• Foden and Hudson-Odoi were team-mates in the England side that won the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.
• Steffen or Pulišić could become the first American to appear in a European Cup final.