2021 UEFA Champions League final

The 2021 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It was played at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, Portugal on 29 May 2021, between English clubs Manchester City, in their first European Cup final, and 2012 winners Chelsea. This was the third all-English final in the competition, after the 2008 and 2019 finals. 

The final was originally scheduled to be played at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia. However, due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final to Lisbon as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the final hosts were moved back a year, with the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey instead planning to host the 2021 final. On 7 May 2021, UEFA confirmed they would consider removing Istanbul as the host of the final due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Two weeks before the final, UEFA announced that it would be relocated to Porto to allow a limited number of fans to attend the match. A capacity limit of 33% was agreed for the 50,000-seater Estádio do Dragão, resulting in an attendance of 14,110.

Chelsea won the final 1–0 for their second UEFA Champions League title, with Kai Havertz scoring the only goal of the game late in the first half. As winners, they earned the right to play against the winners of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League, Villarreal, in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup, and also qualified for the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, both of which they won.

Teams
In the following table, finals until 1992 were in the European Cup era, since 1993 were in the UEFA Champions League era.

TeamPrevious final appearances (bold indicates winners) Manchester CityNone Chelsea2 (2008, 2012)

Venue

The match was the fourth European Cup/Champions League final to take place in Portugal, and the first to take place outside Lisbon, which previously hosted finals in 1967 at the Estádio Nacional and in 2014 and 2020 at the Estádio da Luz. This was the first time the European Cup/Champions League final took place in the same country in successive seasons. The Estádio do Dragão previously hosted matches at UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals. Additionally, this final was the first since 2004 to be held in a stadium with capacity lower than 60,000.

Initial host selection

An open bidding process was launched on 22 September 2017 by UEFA to select the venues of the finals of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Women's Champions League in 2020. Associations had until 31 October 2017 to express interest, and bid information must be submitted by 1 March 2018. Associations hosting matches at UEFA Euro 2020 were not allowed to bid for the 2020 UEFA Champions League final.

UEFA announced on 3 November 2017 that two associations had expressed interest in hosting the 2020 UEFA Champions League final.

+Bidding associations for final Country  Stadium  City  Capacity  Notes   Estádio da Luz  Lisbon  65,647  Hosted the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final   Atatürk Olympic Stadium  Istanbul  76,092  Hosted the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final

The Atatürk Olympic Stadium was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Kyiv on 24 May 2018.

On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee announced that due to the postponement and relocation of the 2020 final to the Estádio da Luz, Istanbul would instead host the 2021 final.

Relocation to Porto
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, Premier League side Aston Villa offered to have Villa Park in Birmingham as the venue for the Champions League Final instead of Istanbul to hold 8,000 English fans, which could be affected by travel limitations. Villa Park has previously hosted the 1999 Cup Winners' Cup Final, the last final of that UEFA competition. It also hosted the 2012 FA Community Shield, also contested between Manchester City and Chelsea, due to Wembley Stadium – England's national stadium – hosting the Olympic football tournament finals in the previous days, being picked in part because of its equal distances between Manchester and London. On 7 May 2021, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps advised against any fans traveling to Turkey for the game.

In negotiations with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, UEFA would only consider Wembley as a potential venue within the United Kingdom, and required guarantees that their officials, sponsors and journalists would be exempt from the UK COVID-19 travel restrictions. The British Government was unable to agree to this, and on 13 May 2021, UEFA announced the final was relocated to the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, Portugal, a country that was on the British "green list" for unrestricted travel during the pandemic.

Background
Manchester City were playing in their first European Cup/UEFA Champions League final. They had previously played in one European final, the 1970 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, and won. They became the ninth English side to play in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League final. This was the third UEFA Champions League final for manager Pep Guardiola, and his first since the two wins with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011, both against Manchester United. City were seeking to become the first club to win its first European Cup/UEFA Champions League final since Borussia Dortmund in 1997, which seven clubs had failed to do in between.

Chelsea were playing in their third European Cup/UEFA Champions League final, and the first since their win in 2012 away against Bayern Munich. In addition, they had previously played in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Europa League finals twice each – winning all. In addition, Chelsea became the first club ever to see its men's and women's teams reach the Champions League final in the same season, having qualified for the 2021 UEFA Women's Champions League Final as well. Head coach Thomas Tuchel became the first manager to reach the European Cup/UEFA Champions League final in successive seasons with different clubs, having lost the 2020 final to Bayern Munich while coaching Paris Saint-Germain.

This was the third all-English final in the history of the competition, after 2008 in Moscow between Chelsea and Manchester United and 2019 in Madrid between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. This was also the third consecutive Champions League final to feature a first-time finalist, after Tottenham in 2019 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2020.

This was the third meeting between the teams in Europe, having previously met in the semi-finals of the 1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup, where Chelsea won both legs 1–0 en route to their first European trophy. It was also the second major cup final between them, after the 2019 EFL Cup Final, which City won on penalties following a goalless draw after extra time. The teams met twice during the season's Premier League, with each side winning away: City won the first match 3–1 at Stamford Bridge, while Chelsea won the second 2–1 at Etihad Stadium three weeks before the final. Three weeks before the second league encounter, Chelsea also beat City 1–0 in the FA Cup semi-finals, denying City the chance of winning an unrivaled quadruple.

Road to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
 Manchester CityRound ChelseaOpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResult Porto3–1 (H)Matchday 1 Sevilla0–0 (H) Marseille3–0 (A)Matchday 2 Krasnodar4–0 (A) Olympiacos3–0 (H)Matchday 3 Rennes3–0 (H) Olympiacos1–0 (A)Matchday 4 Rennes2–1 (A) Porto0–0 (A)Matchday 5 Sevilla4–0 (A) Marseille3–0 (H)Matchday 6 Krasnodar1–1 (H)Group C winnersFinal standingsGroup E winnersOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legKnockout phaseOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg Borussia Mönchengladbach4–02–0 (A)2–0 (H)Round of 16 Atlético Madrid3–01–0 (A)2–0 (H) Borussia Dortmund4–22–1 (H)2–1 (A)Quarter-finals Porto2–12–0 (A)0–1 (H) Paris Saint-Germain4–12–1 (A)2–0 (H)Semi-finals Real Madrid3–11–1 (A)2–0 (H)
Notes

Pre-match

Officials

On 12 May 2021, UEFA named Spaniard Antonio Mateu Lahoz as the referee for the final. He was joined by six of his fellow countrymen, including assistant referees Pau Cebrián Devís and Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar. Carlos del Cerro Grande served as the fourth official, while Alejandro Hernández Hernández acted as the video assistant referee. Juan Martínez Munuera and Íñigo Prieto López de Cerain were appointed as assistant VAR officials, along with Polish referee Paweł Gil.

Opening ceremony
American DJ and electronic music producer Marshmello performed a virtual show for the opening ceremony before the match, along with Selena Gomez and Khalid.

Details
A "home" team was determined, for "administrative purposes,"Each of the two finalists is able to wear their first-choice colours. If, however, there is a clash of colours that necessitates a kit change from one club, then the club designated as "the away side" must use an alternative kit. In the actual 2021 final, both teams wore their first-choice colours. through a special draw held on 19 March 2021, after the quarter-final and semi-final draws. 

 GK 31 EdersonRB 2  Kyle WalkerCB 5  John StonesCB 3  Rúben DiasLB 11 Oleksandr ZinchenkoCM 20 Bernardo Silva   CM 8  İlkay Gündoğan  CM 47 Phil FodenAM 17 Kevin De Bruyne (c)   CF 26 Riyad MahrezCF 7  Raheem Sterling   Substitutes:GK 13 Zack SteffenGK 33 Scott CarsonDF 6  Nathan AkéDF 14 Aymeric LaporteDF 22 Benjamin MendyDF 27 João CanceloDF 50 Eric GarcíaMF 16 RodriMF 25 Fernandinho   FW 9  Gabriel Jesus    FW 10 Sergio Agüero   FW 21 Ferran TorresManager: Pep Guardiola300px GK 16 Édouard MendyCB 28 César Azpilicueta (c)CB 6  Thiago Silva   CB 2  Antonio Rüdiger  RWB24 Reece JamesLWB21 Ben ChilwellCM 5  JorginhoCM 7  N'Golo KantéAM 29 Kai HavertzAM 19 Mason Mount   CF 11 Timo Werner   Substitutes:GK 1  Kepa ArrizabalagaGK 13 Willy CaballeroDF 3  Marcos AlonsoDF 4  Andreas Christensen   DF 15 Kurt ZoumaDF 33 EmersonMF 10 Christian Pulisic   MF 17 Mateo Kovačić   MF 20 Callum Hudson-OdoiMF 22 Hakim ZiyechMF 23 Billy GilmourFW 18 Olivier GiroudManager: Thomas Tuchel

Man of the Match:
N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea)

Assistant referees:
Pau Cebrián Devís (Spain)
Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar (Spain)
Fourth official:
Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain)
Video assistant referee:
Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Spain)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain)
Íñigo Prieto López de Cerain (Spain)
Paweł Gil (Poland)Match rules
90 minutes
30 minutes of extra time if necessary
Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
Twelve named substitutes
Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time

Statistics

+First halfStatisticManchester CityChelseaGoals scored01Total shots35Shots on target12Saves11Ball possession53%47%Corner kicks11Fouls committed76Offsides12Yellow cards10Red cards00

+Second halfStatisticManchester CityChelseaGoals scored00Total shots43Shots on target00Saves00Ball possession64%36%Corner kicks20Fouls committed77Offsides01Yellow cards11Red cards00

+OverallStatisticManchester CityChelseaGoals scored01Total shots78Shots on target12Saves11Ball possession58%42%Corner kicks31Fouls committed1413Offsides13Yellow cards21Red cards00

Notes

References

Other websites

Category:2020s in Portugal
Category:2021 in Europe
Category:2021 in association football
Category:Football in Portugal
Category:May 2021 events
2021