this is where every top level footballer wants to be after a long season the champions league final
only two teams left in the battle for europe's premier club competition
my name's derek ray and i'm joined for commentary on this final tonight by lee dixon
it is chelsea facing manchester city well it's an absolute pleasure derrick to be here very very
lucky indeed to be broadcasting to millions and millions of people let alone watching
this fantastic game i'm sure the players are a little bit nervous as well with that audience
looming in the background tuning in on their televisions it's going to be a great night
i'm very excited to be here hopefully we get the game that this tournament deserves
here's the lineup for chelsea antonio rudiger starts alongside thiago silva in central defence
and the starting role an attack today is handed to timo vienna
and so they starting 11 for manchester city edison between the posts kevin de bruyne starts with
roderi in central midfield and the responsibility of leading the line goes to gabrielle jesus
joao cancello and the throw in for manchester city it'll be
i must say respect and admiration grows for kevin de bruyne with each passing year
so many attributes what are you looking for from the belgian in this game well he plays
the game as if the ball is his own he lends it to other players he's the glue between the team
between the different departments of the team and he links everything together
now what can they produce on the flank
could play it in
reese james that is how to apply the pressure
well he wasn't messing around with the clearance
and this is it the final of the uefa champions league it's where everyone wants to be only
two sides can accomplish that can they nudge in front and a powerful effort but
just lacking accuracy yeah narrowly wide derrick decent effort he smashed it
gabrielle jesus and a good looking pass
and gabrielle jesus
keeping possession of the ball with authority crisp tackling and the counter attackers on
options available they need to get bodies back chillwell kai habits
just cutting off the supply
and now kevin de bruyne
gundam
they might be able to get in now high degree of difficulty to hit it on the volley like
that and it was close well it's all about timing you've got to wait for the ball to
come down and he's very very unlucky good physical play sterling it's with gunduan
and the keeper can gather
defensive brazilians to shut them down
mares it's with joao cancello still passing it around with authority
gabrielle jesus and now rodri joan cancelo
and now rodri precise ball movement
will he play it in potential opportunity for manchester city to take the lead corner kick it is
played into the center of the box punched away free free-kick to chelsea
well they had a decent reading of that ball in and that signals the end of a tight tense first half
we're still waiting lee for someone or something to kick-start this champions league final not the
best is it i'm thinking about my half-time cup of tea my refreshments and my 45 minutes separating
these two sides from glory the second half of the champions league final begins alexander zinchenko
sterling has it ruben diaz and he takes it away
can they create something can he put it away and a goal for chelsea they've hit the front
in the champions league final oh they've got the noses in front can they keep it
well here's the replay and as we see it's a class ball through to split the defense and once he
gets himself settled with the keeper to beat he hammers it into the back of the net smashing goal
well it can be difficult being a manager at times none more so than now
so the match has restarted one nil here
and the advantage is with [ __ ] a city free kick for coming
chelsea are really struggling in terms of possession but they won't
mind without the win in this game they're sucking their opponents onto them and with
the pace they've got in midfield and up front they're really causing problems
joao cancelo rodriguez it's with bernardo silva ronaldo silva
has a go it wasn't far away from the target league no it was decent really really decent
chance for the lad they'll keep pushing away to try and get that equaliser james ziesh
well he's got plenty of space on the flank here
and he's going to be disappointed with that pass
who's in custody of it kante aguero well that's one for them to pursue matters patients enough
build up can they carve out a chance well he has the measure of his man that is a very
fine challenge in difficult circumstances racing forward trying to catch them out
and they'll get ready for the throw-in and manchester city will go to their bench
fernandinho joel cancelo
well it's come down to the final 20 minutes here good looking ball there could be a chance
now well nothing he could really do based on the cross not problematic for the keeper
thiago silva
rhys james thiago silva
aguero dangerous looking through ball still a chance fine goalkeeping to push that away with the
noses in front in the second half what will be the thinking in the cat lee dixon oh big chance well
the boss got in the way and surely that's the end of the story they cannot throw us away from here
well here's the replay it's a really lovely through ball and he had choices
of what type of finish to apply and bang he goes for the smash lovely goal
well they've decided to make a change well a second goal for them here
and five minutes to go
aguero it's with bernardo silva superb defensive judgement to end the attack
it's a perfect challenge well let's see what they have in store for them on the break
three minutes of a real opening now
you've got to say it was a wonderful break but shame about the wild attempt
yeah who needs a midfield when you can break like that superb pace disappointing finish though
bernardo silva chelsea have returned to the high altar of european football
champions league winners well you have to say they deserve it as well all those training
sessions that toil earlier in the season for 10 months of the season or so and now they've got
the rewards be respectful to the opposition as well make sure you congratulate them on a good
final before you celebrate with your teammates a night these chelsea players will never forget
well now for the official presentation and as a football early in this case as a chelsea
footballer this is exactly where you'd want to be well exactly getting on to that podium
huge amount of effort to get there but this is the this is the icing on the cake
actually watching your captain pick the trophy up sharing in that moment
it's a beautiful trophy as well derek it's chelsea's moment
champions league winners this season and my goodness they deserve it
brilliant moment they'll be celebrating long into the night i'm sure
and then believe it or not they'll be focusing in the next few days on next season no doubt that