MATCH REVIEW (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL) : MANCHESTER CITY 0:1 CHELSEA

Pep Guardiola has faltered at the biggest stage - again. There's just something about this City collective that whenever the European floodlights shine upon them, the otherwise dominant Blues of Manchester crumble apart, again and again. Although only one goal seperated them, a Kai Havertz tap in after he skipped past rushing Ederson, the match has a way wider storyline than the scorecard suggests.

Eyebrows were raised at Pep the moment the lineup was released, a lineup without any natural DM that is. Another massive game, another incident of Pep overthinking and tinkering with his otherwise near perfect system. And it showed. Tuchel's blues dominated proceedings in the first half, hitting the channels time and time again to find Timo Werner's unsettling runs. Dias and Stones were uncharacteristically shaky, a combination of the lack of midfield cover and Pep's system being exposed by Tuchel's brilliance. To be fair to Pep, the first half was end-to-end and chances were created on both ends, but their imbalanced midfield finally gave way as Chelsea took the foothold.

Like I predicted in my preview, whichever team scores first would probably go on to win it, and that's exactly what happened. The gamestate shifted in Chelsea's favour and from that point forward it was all about maintaining pressure and remaining compact, which they did. Injury to Thiago Silva, the organiser at the back, didn't help but the replacement Christensen rose to the occasion. So did defensive partner Rudiger with some crucial tackles and blocks. So did the rest of the Chelsea eleven. A strong, professional and resolute performance with no leaks or gaps. In the emd their defensive resilience meant that City had only one shot on target all game and when the whistle blew after 97 minutes, Europe had a new Champion.

Chelsea have a recklessness when it comes to sacking their managers. But it works, like it has worked today. The Blues have secured their second Champions League, putting them in strong contention for being the biggest club in London. Thomas Tuchel faced Pep Guardiola for the third time ever since joining Chelsea today and he's gone three for three. In the end, the tactician has completely crushed the philosopher, giving us a reflection of real life in the footballing realm.