 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2020–21 UEFA Champions League | ||||||
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| Date | 29 May 2021 (2021-05-29) | ||||||
| Venue | Estádio do Dragão,Porto | ||||||
| Man of the Match | N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 14,110[3] | ||||||
| Weather | Clear night 19 °C (66 °F) 72%humidity[4] | ||||||
←2020 2022 → | |||||||
The2021 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the2020–21 UEFA Champions League, the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised byUEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from theEuropean Cup to theUEFA Champions League. It was played at theEstádio do Dragão inPorto, Portugal on 29 May 2021,[5] between English clubsManchester City, in their first European Cup final, and 2012 winnersChelsea. This was the third all-English final in the competition, after the2008 and2019 finals; and remains the most recent final in the competition in which two teams from the same association have met.
The final was originally scheduled to be played at theKrestovsky Stadium inSaint Petersburg, Russia. However, due to the postponement and relocation of the2020 final to Lisbon as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the final hosts were shifted back a year, with theAtatürk Olympic Stadium inIstanbul, Turkey instead planning to host the 2021 final.[6] 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.[5] A capacity limit of 33% was agreed for the 50,000-seaterEstádio do Dragão, resulting in an attendance of 14,110.[7] This was the second consecutive final in Portugal.
Chelsea won the final 1–0 for their second UEFA Champions League title, withKai Havertz scoring the only goal of the game late in the first half.[8] As winners, they earned the right to play against the winners of the2020–21 UEFA Europa League,Villarreal, in the2021 UEFA Super Cup, and also qualified for the2021 FIFA Club World Cup, both of which they won. Chelsea also qualified for the2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which they also won, through UEFA's champions pathway (the winners of the Champions League between 2021 and 2024).
The match was the fourth European Cup/Champions League final to take place in Portugal, and the first to take place outsideLisbon, which previously hosted finals in1967 at theEstádio Nacional and in2014 and2020 at theEstádio da Luz. This was the first time the European Cup/Champions League final took place in the same country in successive seasons.[9] TheEstádio do Dragão previously hosted matches atUEFA Euro 2004 and the2019 UEFA Nations League Finals. Additionally, this final was the first since2004 to be held in a stadium with capacity lower than 60,000.[citation needed]
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 dossiers must be submitted by 1 March 2018. Associations hosting matches atUEFA Euro 2020 were not allowed to bid for the 2020 UEFA Champions League final.[citation needed]
UEFA announced on 3 November 2017 that two associations had expressed interest in hosting the 2020 UEFA Champions League final.[10]
| Association | Stadium | City | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
 Portugal | Estádio da Luz | Lisbon | 65,647 |
 Turkey | Atatürk Olympic Stadium | Istanbul | 76,092 |
TheAtatürk Olympic Stadium was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting inKyiv on 24 May 2018.[11][12][13]
On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee announced that due to the postponement and relocation of the2020 final to the Estádio da Luz, Istanbul would instead host the 2021 final.[6]
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, Premier League sideAston Villa offered to haveVilla Park inBirmingham as the venue for the Champions League final instead of Istanbul to hold 8,000 English fans, which could be affected by travel limitations.[14] Villa Park has previously hosted the1999 Cup Winners' Cup Final, the last final of that UEFA competition. It also hosted the2012 FA Community Shield, also contested between Manchester City and Chelsea, due toWembley Stadium – England's national stadium – hosting theOlympic football tournament finals in the previous days, being picked in part because of its equidistance betweenManchester andLondon. On 7 May 2021,Secretary of State for TransportGrant Shapps advised against any fans travelling to Turkey for the game.[15]
In negotiations with theDepartment 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 theUK COVID-19 travel restrictions.[16] The British Government was unable to agree to this,[17] and on 13 May 2021, UEFA announced the final was relocated to theEstádio do Dragão inPorto, Portugal,[5] a country that was on the British "green list" for unrestricted travel during the pandemic.[17]
Manchester City were playing in their first European Cup/UEFA Champions League final. They had previously played in one European final, the1970 European Cup Winners' Cup final, which they won. They became the ninth distinct English side to play in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League final. This was the third UEFA Champions League final for managerPep Guardiola, and his first since the two wins withBarcelona in2009 and2011, both againstManchester United.[18] City were seeking to become the first club to win its first European Cup/UEFA Champions League title sinceChelsea in2012, with three clubs having failed to do in between.[19]
Chelsea were playing in their third European Cup/UEFA Champions League final, and the first since their win in2012 away againstBayern Munich. In addition, they had previously played in theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup andUEFA Europa League finals twice each – winning all (the Cup Winners' Cup in1971 and1998, the Europa League in2013 and2019). In addition, Chelsea became the first club ever to see its men's andwomen's teams reach the Champions League final in the same season, having qualified for the2021 UEFA Women's Champions League final as well. Head coachThomas Tuchel became the first manager to reach the European Cup/UEFA Champions League final in successive seasons with different clubs, having lost the2020 final toBayern Munich while coachingParis Saint-Germain.[20]
This was the third all-English final in the history of the competition, after2008 in Moscow between Chelsea andManchester United and2019 in Madrid betweenLiverpool andTottenham 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 the1970–71 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 the2019 EFL Cup final, which City won onpenalties following a goalless draw after extra time. The teams also met in two other title-deciding matches, the2012 and2018 FA Community Shields, both ended in City's favor. They had met twice duringthe 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 theFA Cup semi-finals, denying City the chance of winning an unprecedentedquadruple.[21]
In the following table, finals until 1992 were in the European Cup era, since 1993 were in the UEFA Champions League era.
| Team | Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|
 Manchester City | None |
| Chelsea | 2 (2008,2012) |
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
| Manchester City | Round | Chelsea | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||
| Porto | 3–1 (H) | Matchday 1 |  Sevilla | 0–0 (H) | ||||
 Marseille | 3–0 (A) | Matchday 2 |  Krasnodar | 4–0 (A) | ||||
 Olympiacos | 3–0 (H) | Matchday 3 | Rennes | 3–0 (H) | ||||
| Olympiacos | 1–0 (A) | Matchday 4 | Rennes | 2–1 (A) | ||||
| Porto | 0–0 (A) | Matchday 5 | Sevilla | 4–0 (A) | ||||
| Marseille | 3–0 (H) | Matchday 6 | Krasnodar | 1–1 (H) | ||||
| Group C winners | Final standings | Group E winners | ||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
 Borussia Mönchengladbach | 4–0 | 2–0 (A)[a] | 2–0 (H)[a] | Round of 16 | Atlético Madrid | 3–0 | 1–0 (A)[b] | 2–0 (H) |
| Borussia Dortmund | 4–2 | 2–1 (H) | 2–1 (A) | Quarter-finals | Porto | 2–1 | 2–0 (A)[c] | 0–1 (H)[c] |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 4–1 | 2–1 (A) | 2–0 (H) | Semi-finals | Real Madrid | 3–1 | 1–1 (A) | 2–0 (H) |
Notes
On 12 May 2021, UEFA named SpaniardAntonio Mateu Lahoz as the referee for the final. Mateu Lahoz had been aFIFA referee since 2011, and was previously the fourth official in the2019 UEFA Champions League final. He officiated six prior matches in the 2020–21 Champions League season, with one match in the play-off round, four in the group stage and one quarter-final leg. He served as a referee at the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and was selected as an official forUEFA Euro 2020. 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, whileAlejandro 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 refereePaweł Gil.[2]
American DJ andelectronic music producerMarshmello performed a virtual show for the opening ceremony before the match, along withSelena Gomez andKhalid.[25]
The match kicked off around 8 p.m. in front of a crowd of 14,110. In the fourth minute,Kai Havertz played the ball across the Manchester City penalty area but it was gathered by Ederson. Five minutes later, a long kick from Ederson found Sterling, who controlled the ball and was about to shoot when he was dispossessed by Reece James.[27]: 11 Havertz then passed to Werner, who missed the ball from close range when attempting to shoot. In the 15th minute,Mason Mount passed to Werner, who shot straight at Ederson, before then seeing a subsequent strike tipped away for a corner. Ben Chilwell played in a cross to the far post but N'Golo Kante's header went over the Manchester City bar.[27]: 10 In the 28th minute, Phil Foden was played in on goal and was about to shoot whenAntonio Rüdiger tackled him. Two minutes later, Kyle Walker sent the ball across the Chelsea penalty area but it fizzed just out of Mahrez's reach. With ten minutes of the half remaining,İlkay Gündoğan became the first player to be booked after a foul on Mount.[27]: 9
In the 38th minute, Kante played the ball to Havertz, who was denied a shooting opportunity by a tackle fromOleksandr Zinchenko. A minute later, Chelsea were forced to make the first substitution of the match with the injured Thiago Silva being replaced by Andreas Christensen. Three minutes before half-time, Chelsea took the lead. Mount passed to Havertz, who wentone-on-one with Ederson, and although the goalkeeper rushed out and deflected the ball away, Havertz passed it into an empty net to make it 1–0. There were three minutes of stoppage time.[27]: 8
Neither side made any line-up changes during the interval. Manchester City dominated the early stages of the second half.[27]: 7 Twelve minutes into the half, Rüdiger was booked for a foul on City'sKevin De Bruyne, who was injured in the challenge, leaving the pitch due to the new concussion protocol, in tears, to be replaced byGabriel Jesus. Two minutes later, Manchester City appealed for a penalty when the ball struck James on the arm in his own penalty area, but the VAR review decided against a foul, noting that the ball deflecting off James' chest first. In the 64th minute,Bernardo Silva was replaced by Fernandinho for Manchester City beforeChristian Pulisic came on for Werner for Chelsea.[27]: 6
With 21 minutes remaining, City pressed for an equaliser. Mahrez's cross to Gündoğan was cleared byCésar Azpilicueta. Four minutes later, Pulisic flicked the ball to Havertz, who passed it back to Pulisic, but his attempted shot rolled just past the City goalpost. In the 75th minute, Sterling passed to Jesus, but the ball was cleared by Chilwell. Manchester City made their third substitution whenSergio Agüero, the club'shighest goalscorer of all time playing his last ever game, came on for Sterling.[27]: 5 Mateo Kovačić was brought on for Chelsea to replace Mount in the 80th minute, and five minutes later, Agüero attempted to find Foden with a lofted cross to the far post, but the ball was easily caught byÉdouard Mendy in the Chelsea goal. A minute later, Walker played a cross-field out-swinging pass that narrowly missed both Agüero and Foden.
Two minutes from the end of the match, Jesus was booked for a foul on Havertz before Christensen made a block to maintain his side's lead. At the end of regular time, the fourth official displayed that a minimum of seven minutes of stoppage would be played.[27]: 4 In the final minute, Mahrez's half-volley from the edge of the Chelsea penalty area went just over the crossbar, and the match was brought to an end with Chelsea winning 1–0.[27]: 3
A "home" team was determined, for "administrative purposes," through a special draw held on 19 March 2021,[28] after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.
          Manchester City[4] |     Chelsea[4] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[2] |
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