CHELSEA won the UEFA Champions League (UCL) for the second time as a Kai Havertz goal secured a tense 1-0 victory over Manchester City in Saturday’s final in Porto, shattering Pep Guardiola’s dream of lifting the trophy for the third time, a decade on from his last triumph.

Havertz waited until the biggest occasion to score his first-ever Champions League goal. The summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen scored what proved to be the match-winner in the 42nd minute as the Blues held on for their first Champions League title since 2012.

Beleaguered by Thomas Tuchel’s defensive tactics, Manchester City was never able to find the rhythm that led it to its first Champions League final. Despite an attacking resume that saw it scored 83 goals in its Premier League winning campaign, City fell short with only one shot on target against Chelsea in the final.

Guardiola opted to embrace his formidable attack with a loaded starting lineup, dropping defensive midfielders Rodri and Fernandinho in favor of an all-out attack. Consistent with his tendency to tinker with his squads in big games, Guardiola chose Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and UCL semifinal hero Riyad Mahrez to lead the line with Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva in behind.

City started off with a high line that Chelsea tried to take advantage of early. Havertz created the first dangerous chance of the match with his drive into the box following a Timo Werner run, but his ricocheted pass ended up in the hands of Ederson in the fourth minute.

Ederson used a brilliant ball over the top to stretch the Chelsea defense as Raheem Sterling seemed nearly through on goal, but Edouard Mendy was there to stop the chance just in time after Sterling’s misplaced touch.

Havertz and Werner combined again, this time down the left wing in the 10th minute, to give Chelsea a premium chance in front of goal, but Werner failed to connect on a low pass at his feet and scuffed the chance.

Werner seemed to have the lion’s share of the scoring opportunities early on with his best chance coming in the 14th minute on a Chelsea counter attack, but the German couldn’t corral the ball at his feet properly before sending a rushed shot directly at Ederson.

After 20 minutes, City appeared to settle into its possession-based game plan following the frenetic pace set by the Chelsea counter attack. Still, Chelsea found plenty of pockets to maneuver with Kante drawing a foul in the 25th minute to create a dangerous free-kick opportunity for Chelsea, which was eventually cleared by City’s standout center back Ruben Dias.

De Bruyne finally got involved in the action against his former team in the 25th minute, creating City’s most dangerous chance yet. The Belgian international opened up space down the left wing and slid a perfect pass for a goalbound Foden, but Antonio Rudiger’s perfectly timed, sliding challenge prevented the point-blank shot from testing Mendy.

Five minutes later, Kyle Walker intercepted the ball down the right wing in Chelsea’s defensive third and sent a dangerous pass into the area. But the cross was just inches out of the reach of a crashing Mahrez, which drew groans from the boisterous City fans in attendance.

Despite the injury to Thiago Silva, the Blues rarely looked unnerved by City’s all-out attack, instead allowing Guardiola’s side to push its numbers forward before taking control on the counter attack. (SD-Agencies)