UEFA Champions League Final: ‘Everything is possible’

Pep Guardiolarsquos Manchester City are 90 minutes away from the trophy they so desperately crave but a Chelsea side transformed in recent months stand in their way in Saturdayrsquos allEnglish Champions League final in Porto the Portuguese city which was named as a lastminute host It is the third final of Europersquos elite club competition to be played between two EPL sides and the second in just three seasons and so this is a matchup that underlines the strength of the cashrich English gameNot so long ago the idea of Chelsea and City meeting in the biggest club game of all would have been laughable Their only previous encounter in a final came in 1986 in the shortlived Full Members Cup when Chelsea won 54 at WembleyChelsearsquos Jorginho left tackles Manchester Cityrsquos Raheem Sterling during their FA Cup semifinal at Wembley Stadium last month PicGetty ImagesThat was before the Premier League and modern Champions League existed before Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 and before the Abu Dhabi takeover of City in 2008Advantage BluesThe west London club had a headstart in terms of becoming bigspenders and as a club they have the experience of this stage before having beaten Bayern Munich on penalties on their own turf in the 2012 final They have also won the Europa League twice since thenCity though have never made it this far but are finally here after 13 years of enormous investment from the Gulf and four previous years of disappointment under GuardiolalsquoSimilar teamrsquoldquoWe are quite a similar team to what we were in the past when we were knocked out The margins and little details this year fell down on our side whereas before it was the oppositerdquo said Guardiola who is looking to win his third Champions League as a coach a decade after his last victory with Barcelona After romping to the Premier League title their third in four seasons and having also won the League Cup this season a City side starring the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Ruben Dias are the clear favourites at the Estadio do DragaoChelsea have beaten City twice in the last six weeks first in the FA Cup semifinal and then at the Etihad Stadium in the league ldquoI could not expect a tougher opponentrdquo Guardiola saidThey have been transformed since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard as coach in January even if they did finish the domestic season with three defeats in four games including the FA Cup final against Leicester CityldquoWe have arrived here This is an incredible achievement and once you arrive you want to be on your best but itrsquos City with Pep on the other side who are maybe at the moment the best in Europe maybe in the worldrdquo said Tuchel who was given a boost as fitness concerns Edouard Mendy and NrsquoGolo Kante returned to training ldquoIt is on us again to close the gap for 90 minutes and the good thing is we did it In football everything is possible and in a final everything is possiblerdquoThree Tonightrsquos Chelsea v Man City clash is only the third UEFA Champions League final to be played between two EPL sidesRoad to finalMan City The Citizens kicked off their campaign in Group C alongside Marseille FC Porto and Olympiacos They topped the group stage with 16 points from five wins and a draw Pep Guardiolarsquos team scored 13 goals and conceded only one In the Last 16 they beat Borussia Monchengladbach 40 on aggregate and then overcame FC Porto in the quarters 42 over two legs City were handed a tough draw in the semifinals paired with last yearrsquos runnerup PSG But they dispatched the Parisian side comfortably with a 41 aggregate to storm into the finalChelsea The Blues began their Champions League journey under Frank Lampard and were placed in Group E alongside Sevilla Krasnodar and Rennes The Londonbased club opened with a goalless draw against Sevilla but went on to score 14 goals in their next five games and topped the group with 14 points In the Last 16 Thomas Tuchelrsquos side beat Atletico Madrid 30 on aggregate In the quarterfinals they overcame FC Porto 21 over two legs They faced their biggest challenge in the Last 4 against Real Madrid but managed to tame the Spanish giants 31 on aggregate to enter the finalWatch out for these Key battles in tonightrsquos Champions League finalKevin De Bruyne vs NrsquoGolo KanteManchester Cityrsquos Kevin De Bruyne and Chelsearsquos NrsquoGolo Kante are arguably the worldrsquos best in their respective central midfield positions The natural ability of De Bruyne against the work rate of Kante could decide which team emerges victorious De Bruynersquos creativity has been the hallmark of Cityrsquos attack Chelsea will depend on Kante to stifle De Bruyne If he can do it he may win the game for ChelseaRiyad Mahrez vs Antonio RudigerWinger Riyad Mahrez was excellent against PSG scoring thrice across twolegged semifinal The way he likes to cut in from the wings he is bound to come up against Chelsearsquos formidable defender Antonio Rudiger Mahrez has a brilliant left foot and that helps him deliver precise crosses into the box Rudiger with his physical prowess and intelligent positional play will have to be at his best to stop this high flying AlgerianFernandinho vs Mason MountAttacking midfielder Mason Mount has been Chelsearsquos best player this season and bagged a crucial goal in the semifinal against Real Madrid Fernandinho on the other hand has had to fight for his place in the side but Pep Guardiola has favoured his experience in the bigger games Mount will be crucial at initiating Chelsearsquos attacks so the way Fernandinho handles him could determine how effective the Blues will be in midfieldThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever