Chelsea v Man City (CL Final) 29/05/21 KO 20:00 BST

[coco]

I copy/pasted the title above from the 19/05/12 match thread for good luck.

[Munkunku]

@sonic90 FYI my full kit is on order. Might get some shin pads and boots - the full JT. 

[sonic90]

1 minute ago, Munkworth said:

@sonic90 FYI my full kit is on order. Might get some shin pads and boots - the full JT. 

Armband as well?

[Munkunku]

2 minutes ago, sonic90 said:

Armband as well?

[KonaKai Blue]

One of you catch covid in 2 weeks and head to Citys training ground 

[axman2526]

3 CL finals in our history and 2 of those are against clubs from Flippin Manchester shesh that is bad luck.

Over to the Kante triplets. They were brilliant both games against Real and we need them even better for this one.

[Malta Blue]

Can't tell you how good this looks

[Jezz]

Amazing feeling to be in a Champions League final, and making history.

• Aiming for our second Champions League trophy.
• 3rd CL final in 14 seasons.
• All three finals have occurred in a season where a coach has been sacked mid-season.
• Tuchel is managing in back to back finals.
• Could be the 4th English club (after Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest) to win 2+ CL trophies and the 13th club in Europe to do so.

Can't wait for this.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Jezz

[Imran_CFC]

I don't think the difference between our teams is all that great, if you take into context the full season they clearly have been the better and more consistent team which is understandable considering they have a more settled team and coaching staff. However since TT has come in our performances and results have been fairly similar and we have also beaten them in the process too, I don't think it's as lopsided as some may believe and we are certainly not as big underdogs as we were in 2012.

Come On Chelsea!!!!

[Term_X]

I did fear that history favours the better positioned side when two clubs from the same league meet, Bayern/Dortmund, Liverpool/Tottenham, Real Madrid/Atletico and of course us in 2008. However, In 2003, Juventus were the top dogs in Serie A, top of the table by a big margin, essentially already champions, AC Milan who were 3rd and 10 points behind beat them in the Champions League Final at Old Trafford.

[Browerkid]

Have you ever seen a team completely control there opponent with 33% of the ball?  What a night!  

I can't wait for the final.!  I know City will be favorites but I truly believe it's a 50/50 game....and there is this magic with TT. Everything he does has worked.  How many predicted dropping Pulisic tonight? Masterstroke.

 

[Boyne]

A couple I know- and good friends of mine- are season ticket holders at City. There will be loads of messages between me and them over the next three and a half weeks. Hopefully I shall be having the last laugh and will be gloating a lot.

Carefree!

[coco]

23 minutes ago, Browerkid said:

How many predicted dropping Pulisic tonight? Masterstroke.

[Gol15]

So many pointed out the similarities of 2012-2021 but the one thing that bothers me is that the last time we played a final against a Manchester team we lost so it really looks like a 50-50 game.

[Argo]

1 hour ago, Term_X said:

I did fear that history favours the better positioned side when two clubs from the same league meet, Bayern/Dortmund, Liverpool/Tottenham, Real Madrid/Atletico and of course us in 2008. However, In 2003, Juventus were the top dogs in Serie A, top of the table by a big margin, essentially already champions, AC Milan who were 3rd and 10 points behind beat them in the Champions League Final at Old Trafford.

The first Real/Atletico final was just after the latter won the league.

[Guest Sindre]

Think it will be a extremely close game that may very well go to extra-time and penalties.

On paper I believe City's system with no recognized striker suits our system. They are deadly when they get a littlebit of space in behind or between the lines but I trust Tuchel will have his gameplan ready for all that.

[ozboy]

538, arguably a good site for estimating probabilities rates us a 36% chance. I’d take that, it’s only one game and likely to be tight, both sides have good defence. So luck might play a part. 
 

maybe this weekend will provide some clues. 

[Jezz]

I feel unusually calm about the final.

Feel like all the pressure is on City after years of near misses under Pep.

[axman2526]

3 hours ago, Gol15 said:

So many pointed out the similarities of 2012-2021 but the one thing that bothers me is that the last time we played a final against a Manchester team we lost so it really looks like a 50-50 game.

Indeed. A graphic went about how we have made European finals after sacking a manager mid season.

We won all of those finals I believe, except one, when we played the best team in manchester at that time. Now City have replaced United as Manchester's best team.

So while to 2012 2021 point is cute, I share your concern.

[Imran_CFC]

1 hour ago, ozboy said:

538, arguably a good site for estimating probabilities rates us a 36% chance. I’d take that, it’s only one game and likely to be tight, both sides have good defence. So luck might play a part. 
 

maybe this weekend will provide some clues. 

I wonder if Tuchel may think of opting for a 4-3-3 on the weekend in order to keep Guardiola guessing about the formation for the final plus use it as an opportunity to test the formation change in case we need to change things up at some stage.

Plus we wouldn't want to give Pep and Team any additional experience against our Plan A.

[Valerie]

May 2021: month of high anxiety....

[Jezz]

2 minutes ago, Valerie said:

May 2021: month of high anxiety....

...and excitement 😎

[_Ilya_]

5 minutes ago, Imran_CFC said:

Plus we wouldn't want to give Pep and Team any additional experience against our Plan A.

Interesting angle. We want to maximise our learning/experience of them while minimising their learning/experience of us.  🙂 

If done purely via team selection, I guess one could pick some aspects of the game where we need most learning/experience. E.g. pick best defense to see how they handle MC, but play Tammy and Giroud because (for example) we have a pretty good idea of what our best attack looks like and how exactly they will play. For exmaple.  

[coco]

Champions League: Aston Villa to offer Villa Park for Manchester City v Chelsea final

 

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12298397/champions-league-aston-villa-to-offer-villa-park-for-manchester-city-v-chelsea-final

[PraetorianGuard]

I'm much more nervous about this game than I was for Real Madrid. Guardiola is very prepared when it comes to cup finals and he has the edge historically over Tuchel. Going to be a slugfest.