Chelsea beat Man City to win Champions League

Chelsea players lift Champions League trophy

Chelsea won the Champions League for the second time in their history with a well-deserved win over Manchester City in an all-Premier League match in Porto.

Thomas Tuchel defeated Pep Guardiola for the third time since taking over from the ousted Frank Lampard in January to return European club football's most prestigious title back to Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2012.

After a sluggish start to his Chelsea career, Kai Havertz scored the game-winning goal three minutes before halftime, collecting a defence-splitting ball from Mason Mount and around City goalkeeper Ederson to score.

It means City will continue to chase the Champions League, a title they have never won, and Guardiola will face criticism for his role in the defeat following a tactical gamble that backfired.

Guardiola unexpectedly chose not to use Rodri or Fernandinho as defensive midfielders, leaving City with a jumbled game plan that limited their efficiency and hardly caused Chelsea any difficulties.

Chelsea dominated possession throughout, with Timo Werner missing two good chances before Havertz scored and replacement Christian Pulisic squandering another in the second half.

City, who lost Kevin De Bruyne to injury midway through the second half, brought in Sergio Aguero for his final appearance, but the club's all-time leading scorer was denied a fairytale finale as Chelsea won.

After the disappointment of losing last year's final as manager of Paris St-Germain, Tuchel was overjoyed.

Tuchel made it three wins in a row against Guardiola with a ruthlessly controlled and upbeat Chelsea performance that brought a season marred by doubt to a spectacular end.

Since his arrival in January, the German has completely altered Chelsea, restoring the towering Antonio Rudiger to central defence and playing the superb man-of-the-match N'golo Kante in the position where he is simply a world-class operator.

From his midfield position, Kante was in command of the game, a complete player who put in a masterful effort.

Chelsea needed to be flawless defensively, but this was not a smash-and-grab situation. In the first half, it was a front-foot display that took the momentum away from City.

They were subsequently able to hold their ground in the second with only a few nervous moments.

They even weathered the injury to the seasoned Thiago Silva in the first half and continued in the same methodical, committed manner.

It's a significant personal victory for Tuchel, who had already beaten Guardiola in the FA Cup semi-final and the Premier League at Etihad Stadium before this game.

Chelsea played with a bold approach that never allowed City to settle and generated wild celebrations among players, staff, and fans inside Porto's Estadio do Dragao, demonstrating the confidence and self-belief that those triumphs brought.

The magnitude of Tuchel's success is that this night was unthinkable when he arrived in January, but Chelsea are now European champions for the second time.