Citizens’ Heartbreak: Overthinker Pep Guardiola’s Tactical Blunders Cost Manchester City Champions League Final

The stage was set for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola in Porto to end their jinx but Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel had some different plans.

New Delhi: Manchester City gave their all on Saturday in the final but were outclassed by Chelsea as their wait for the maiden Champions League title goes on. City, who were favourites ahead of the match, made some tactical blunders which led to their 0-1 defeat. Prolific City manager Pep Guardiola, who won his last UCL trophy in 2011 with Barcelona, did everything right till the night of the finale. City were at the top of their game this season and they had already beaten another UCL contender Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals.

The stage was set for City and Guardiola in Porto to end their jinx but Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel had some different plans.

Come the night, the Premier League champions went with Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne up front that was enough to let the opposition know about their intent. During the last season, Guardiola didn’t use Sterling much from the starting minute but he made a gamble on Saturday. The Spaniard decided to leave out center defending midfielders – Fernandinho and Rodri. Instead Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and İlkay Gündoğan started from the mid.

How would you describe this City line-up? 💭#UCL #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/lh1KIhs7jd

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 29, 2021

City enjoyed great domestic success last season with the Premier League and Carabao Cup title. Guardiola stuck to his plan of playing a midfielder as center forward in the Premier League and it paid off for him. De Bruyne and Gündoğan created chanced upfront with their vision and creativity. While at the CDM position Fernandinho and Rodri put up a solid show irrespective of who got a chance to show their skill. They enjoyed success last season due to their rock-solid backline but Guardiola decided to change the tactics in the final.

Against a team like Chelsea who are known to rely heavily on their counter-attacks and has players with raw pace like Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount, City made a tactical blunder to not start with a specialist CDM.

In the past seasons after leaving Barcelona, Guardiola has often been criticized for overthinking ahead of big Champions League matches, and he exactly did the same on probably City’s biggest ever night. The Spaniard brought a different footballing culture in Premier League – possession-based football and despite many predicting it to fail, Guardiola’s work helped City achieve tremendous domestic success. Unfortunately, Champions League 2021 final happened to be another one of those nights for Guardiola where he failed miserably.

Chelsea were on a roll in the first half as Mount, Havertz and Werner put pressure on City’s defence with their pace. Werner missed a couple of chance but he created problems for the Citizens with his runs. In the end, it was Havertz who put Ederson on the ground with a goal.

City’s attackers struggled miserably in the first half as Recce James contained Sterling right from the start. Mahrez, who had a fantastic show in the semifinals against Paris Saint-Germain, failed to find any space to trouble the opposition on Saturday.

The inclusion of Sterling in the attack forced young starlet Foden to play out of his preferrable position. The 21-year-old didn’t make any impact in the first half.

In the second half, Guardiola made some substitutions at regular intervals but it was too late as Chelsea already got what they wanted in the first-half – a goal.

N’golo Kante produced a stellar performance once again to win another mega trophy in his illustrious career. Kante’s performance clearly displayed what City missed last night – a strong CDM.

N’Golo Kanté. Magnifique! 🌟#UCLPOTM | #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/r4p3Y6LvYF

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 29, 2021

Chelsea defenders gave their all in the second half to stop City from scoring an equalizer. Anthony Rudiger, Cesar Azpellicuete were rock solid in the defence and were there in the box every time a cross arrived from the flanks.

It was not that Chelsea completely outclassed City in the game but it was Guardiola’s tactics that eventually led to their downfall.

Pep is definitely one of the best managers in football history. He has already won 31 trophies in his managerial career. The Pep roulette just didn’t work in the Champions League final but the story is not over yet as he will stay in the club until his contract expires in 2023.