CHELSEA IS THE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE

What could have been a Manchester total domination of Europe 2021 became exactly the opposite. Manchester City squandered the best chance to secure their first Champions League Final win when they lost to Chelsea 2 - 1 last night. This is a major bummer to the City of Manchester when their Red neighbors also lost out on a spectacularly in the Europa League Final just 48 hours earlier.

Chelsea’s Kai Havertz repaid some of his huge transfer fee as his first-half goal sealed a 1-0 win for his side over Manchester City in the Champions League final on Saturday. The German youngster, Chelsea’s record signing, latched on to Mason Mount’s pass and evaded City keeper Ederson before rolling the ball into an empty net just 3 minutes before halftime. 

TIGERS SUPER SPORTS

Premier League champions City were favourites ahead of the final but suffered a desperately disappointing night in Estadio do Drago, Porto in what was their first Champions League final. Pep Guardiola’s side were never allowed to play their normal fluent game and could not respond as a disciplined Chelsea sealed the win.

The narrative is quite a story to tell for Man City both the club and the manager. City’s first appearance in the final after so many European failures during their last decade-plus of relevance. Every dollar poured into the club, the ones well spent and wasted, have led to this moment. But that 90 minutes have been a torture to them as they could have lifted the Big Ears and claimed the glory.

Champions League is very familiar territory to Guardiola. Having won once as player and twice as a manager made him as one of the best Manager in Europe. He has a Cristiano Ronaldo-esque impact in his managerial career winning and dominating all the leagues he is in from La Liga, Bundesliga and Premier League. This final could have been his magnum opus but fate has other plan for him.

Thomas Tuchel on the other hand is on a winning streak. Taking PSG a back to back to back Ligue 1 champions in France, runners up in 2020 Champions League. Sacked by PSG, took over Chelsea from Frank Lampard and reached the promise land with Chelsea. His first Champions League and Chelsea’s second.

SUFI SUPER YACHTS

Chelsea has not been a force to be reckon with since they part ways with Jose Mourinho in his both stints at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea is not the club everybody wants to beat, a position currently held by Manchester City. Narrowly secured the top four finishing this season, Tuchel has an opportunity to defend the title next season. This also could be a revival for Chelsea. The win will give Tuchel free access to Roman Abramovich’s war chest and we have seen that happened before. The season have just officially ended and we just can’t  wait for the new season to start.

England's Champions League Winners

6 - Liverpool

3 - Manchester United

2 - Chelsea

2 - Nottingham Forest

1 - Aston Villa

By Faiz Hakim

Photo: Champions League | Chelsea FC

HAZARD'S GOAL LIFTS CHELSEA PAST MAN UNITED IN FA CUP FINAL

FA CUP: CHELSEA 1 - MANCHESTER UTD 1

Eden Hazard ensured Chelsea’s lackluster season ended on a high note by securing the F.A. Cup in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the final on Saturday. Days after raising doubts about his Chelsea future, Hazard netted from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute at Wembley Stadium after being brought down by Phil Jones.

After lifting the Premier League trophy last season, Chelsea finished 30 points behind newly crowned champion Manchester City to finish fifth last week and out of the Champions League places. Victory for Conte — his first in a cup final — meant Jose Mourinho finished his second season at United empty-handed, paying the price for an insipid first-half display and coming to life only after the break.

United took until the 56th minute to register a shot on target when Marcus Rashford struck at goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who later rushed off his line to block the forward. United did finish second in the Premier League, the club's highest finish since Alex Ferguson retired as a champion in 2013.

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IT WAS A TIMEBOMB WAITING TO EXPLODE

Nicolas Anelka says the tension between the France squad and their coach at the World Cup was like a 'timebomb waiting to explode'.

The Chelsea frontman was sent home from the tournament following his bust-up with boss Raymond Domenech, which provoked the rest of the 23-man party to strike in support of the forward.

The disruption saw Les Bleus lose their final group game against South Africa 2-1, a defeat which ended their World Cup campaign.

The French media have suggested that some members of the squad were pressurised to participate in the strike, but 31-year-old Anelkais adamant the players were united in their revolt.

Les Bleus midfielder Jeremy Toulalan admitted on Sunday that the strike was a unanimous decision and that the whole squad should be punished, and Anelka praised the Lyonplayer's stance on the issue.

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CAPTAINCY CRISIS

Joachim Low has hosed down the controversy surrounding Philipp Lahm and Germany's captaincy ahead of their World Cup semi-final against Spain.

Lahm told the Bild newspaper he wants to retain the armband even when regular skipper Michael Ballack returns from injury after the tournament, causing an unnecessary distraction in the German camp less than 48 hours ahead of their crucial match in Durban.

Ballack left the camp shortly after the comments were made, creating the impression of a rift, but Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff has insisted Ballack always intended to visit the team during the quarter-finals and simply departed as scheduled.

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ESSIEN CONFIDENT WITH GHANA

Michael Essien believes Ghana are more than capable of beating Uruguay in the World Cup quarter-finals.

The 27-year-old has sent a good luck message to his national compatriots whilst continuing his rehabilitation on a knee injury.

The Chelsea star injured his knee at the African Cup of Nations early in 2010, and he failed to recover in time for the finals in South Africa.

Although disappointed to have missed out, he admits he is immensely proud of seeing his side become the only African nation to make it to the knock-out stages.

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LAMPARD WANTS GOAL TECHNOLOGY

Frank Lampard has demanded the introduction of goal-line technology after being denied a goal against Germany as England crashed out of the World Cup.

England were trailing 2-1 when Lampard's 20-yard strike hit the underside of the bar and bounced down around a yard over the goal-line.

However, the officials failed to spot the ball had crossed the line and allowed play to continue.

Germany took full advantage of their lucky escape by going on to win 4-1 and Lampard is amazed his goal was not allowed to count.

Lampard believes that if it had gone to 2-2, it would have been a different game. It baffles him that it wasn't given and it was a big deciding factor.

 

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GERMANY 4 - ENGLAND 1

England were hammered 4-1 by Germany in the second round of the World Cup, but the spotlight fell on the officials after they missed an obvious equaliser for Fabio Capello's men just before half-time.

After Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski had put Germany 2-0 up early on, Matthew Upson got one back but then Frank Lampard's goal was ruled out after the ball bounced down off the bar, despite it landing a yard over the line.

When Lampard's effort went in, only for assistant Mauricio Espinosa to miss it, grainy images of England's controversial third at Wembley in 1966 immediately sprang to mind. To his total disbelief, Capello's celebrations of what would have been an equaliser were cut short. Everyone in the ground, except the men who mattered, knew what had happened.

Germany made the most of their good fortune to book a quarter-final place, with what turned out to be their biggest win over a rival they have not lost to in a major tournament since the 1966 final. For England, it was their joint-biggest ever defeat at a World Cup.

Klose and Podolski's first half-goals were doubled by a pair from the excellent Thomas Muller after the break. But no-one will be talking about them on the streets of England. Nor will they discuss a Matthew Upson header that brought the Three Lions back into it.

Eventually they might get round to the clear defensive deficiencies in a team Capello claimed was good enough to reach the final.

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IVORY COAST 3 - NORTH KOREA 0

Sven-Goran Eriksson's side struck twice inside 20 minutes as they tore into their limited opponents from the outset, but only frustration followed in their final Group G game. Yaya Toure, Romaric and Salomon Kalou were on target as Ivory Coast's World Cup campaign ended with a hollow victory over North Korea.

The Africans had 14 shots, 10 on target, as they dominated the first half and sensed an unlikely chance to reach the last 16. The threatened goal duly arrived after 13 minutes as Toure took a neat touch from an Arthur Boka cross and coolly placed a shot into the bottom corner from 18 yards.

Romaric then clipped the post from distance before a fierce Drogba shot rattled the underside of the bar and bounced off the line to allow Romaric to head in the second.

Kalou entered the action but spurned a good chance when he scooped over at the end of a neat move. He made up for that when he volleyed in a Boka cross nine minutes from time but by then the players were going through the motions.

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SLOVENIA 0 - ENGLAND 1

England produced a vastly improved performance to beat Slovenia 1-0 and progress to the last 16 as Group C runners-up. The Three Lions needed to win after being held to disappointing draws by USA and Algeria in their opening two World Cup games, and responded with a dynamic display full of urgency and slick passing.

Two of the players brought into the side by Fabio Capello combined for the crucial goal on 22 minutes as James Milner delivered a superb cross from the right wing and Jermain Defoe provided the finishing touch.

England continued to dominate possession and carved out a number of good opportunities to double their advantage, with Samir Handanovic repelling Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney with athletic saves, and Defoe also flicking an effort wide.

Slovenia did carry a threat on the counter-attack and anxiety would have been spreading among England supporters as their team failed to take a more comfortable lead.

However, England stayed solid in defence and held on to the final whistle to make it through to the next round, with Slovenia dramatically bowing out as a result of USA's last-gasp winner against Algeria.

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ENGLAND IN A DO OR DIE MISSION

 

Fabio Capello says he never considered dropping John Terry after the defender's outburst, and insists confidence is high in the England camp as they prepare to face Slovenia in Wednesday's crunch match in Port Elizabeth.

England have had to deflect stories of rifts in the camp following newspaper speculation at the weekend and John Terry's press conference, when the former skipper claimed there would be frank words spoken at a team meeting.

Capello has since stated that Terry made a "big mistake" in that press conference, but insisted on Tuesday that he never considered dropping the former captain in order to punish him.

Captain Steven Gerrard, who described the game against Slovenia as "do or die'', claimed Terry's outburst is not affecting the players. Gerrard sympathises with the supporters and revealed the team are desperate to put on a better performance. He also denied that he and his team-mates had put pressure on Capello to pick Joe Cole in his team.

Capello also backed Wayne Rooney to up his game following recent criticism of his below-par performances, especially in the goalless draw with Algeria. The manager admitted it was possible he had made mistakes in England's opening two games but has called for his players to knuckle down and start battling.

 

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SOUTH AFRICA 2 - FRANCE 1

France exited the World Cup at the first round stage with barely a whimper after this humbling defeat by the host nation at the Free State Stadium.

On a day of drama Raymond Domenech stripped Patrice Evra of the captaincy and handed the armband to Alou Diarra instead. Then the coach, set to be replaced by Laurent Blanc, saw his side reduced to 10 men after 26 minutes of this Group A game when Yoann Gourcuff was sent off.

South Africa took advantage with Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela both finding the target. Although Florent Malouda stepped off the bench to pull a goal back France are heading home early.

Evra was dropped after the squad boycotted a training session after striker Nicolas Anelka was expelled following a row with Domenech. The Manchester United full-back cut a lonely figure on the bench on another dreadful day for France.

It was a bitter sweet win for South Africa as they have become the first host nation to be eliminated at the first round stage of the finals.

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PORTUGAL 7 - NORTH KOREA 0

Portugal hit their stride at the World Cup on Monday, thrashing North Korea 7-0 to give themselves an excellent chance of reaching the last 16 while ending the Asian team's hopes.

Portugal took the lead through Raul Meireles in the 29th minute and went on the rampage in the second half with three goals in a seven-minute spree from Simao Sabrosa (53rd), Hugo Almeida (56th) and Tiago (60th).

The score was completed with late strikes from Liedson (81st) and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 87th, his first for Portugal in two years, and Tiago again in the 89th.

Portugal scored five in their remarkable 1966 World Cup quarter-final with North Korea when they came from 3-0 down to win 5-3.

Brazil, already sure of a second round place, lead Group G with six points from Portugal, who have four. Ivory Coast have one and North Korea none with one match each left to play.

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IVORY COAST 1 - BRAZIL 3

Kaka was controversially sent off as a brace from Luis Fabiano and an Elano strike helped Brazil ease to victory in their battle with Ivory Coast at Soccer City. 

Didier Drogba grabbed a late goal for the Elephants, but the game was marred by the late dismissal of Kaka for an off the-the-ball foul on Kader Keita. It came too late, though, for the Elephants to respond as they slipped to defeat that leaves them with just a point in Group G, while Brazil now have six. 

The game got slightly scrappy late on and Kaka received his marching orders after being shown a second yellow card.

 

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ANELKA SENT HOME

Nicolas Anelka has been sent home from the World Cup, the French Football Federation have confirmed. The France Striker was reportedly embroiled in war of words with Raymond Domenech at half-time in the 2-0 defeat to Mexico, in which was alleged to have told the much-maligned Les Bleus' coach "go screw yourself, dirty son of a whore".

And after refusing to apologise to Domenech for the exchange, the Chelsea striker has been told he must leave South Africa before France's must-win final group game against South Africa.

Anelka was absent from training on Saturday after the bust-up, which saw him substituted at the interval. He was asked to apologise by French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes and, upon refusing to do so, was asked to leave the squad.

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IVORY COAST 0 - PORTUGAL 0

Cristiano Ronaldo was denied by the woodwork as Portugal and Ivory Coast had to make do with a point apiece in Port Elizabeth.

Ronaldo, who has not scored an international goal in 16 months, rattled a post with a blistering early strike, but that was as close as his side came to snatching victory on a frustrating afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Even Didier Drogba's arrival as a second-half substitute, to the delight of a crowd of 37,034, could not separate the sides as each attempted to gain the upper hand in Group G ahead of their respective encounters with Brazil.

Ivory Coast boss Sven-Goran Eriksson was boosted ahead of kick-off when he was able to name captain Drogba among his substitutes just 10 days after he had broken a bone in his arm.

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DROGBA OUT OF TRAINING BUT FINE

Didier Drogba sat out training on Saturday but Ivory Coast are still hoping the striker will be fit to face Portugal. Drogba broke his arm in a warm-up match against Japan on June 4 and there were initial fears he could miss the tournament, but he had surgery the day after the game and has made a swift recovery.

Ivory Coast confirmed Drogba missed training on Saturday to visit the team doctors, but Sven-Goran Eriksson is still optimistic about his chances of playing against Portugal in their Group G opener on Tuesday.

 

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ROBBEN TO MISS OPENER

 

Arjen Robben has been ruled out of Holland's World Cup opener against Denmark with a hamstring injury. The Bayern Munich man sustained a small tear in his left hamstring towards the end of Saturday's 6-1 warm-up victory over Hungary.

 

He is hoping intensive physiotherapy will help him play some part in South Africa, but Oranje coach Bert van Marwijk is resigned to being without the 26-year-old for Monday's Group E opener against the Danes in Johannesburg. Robben can be replaced by the Dutch until the day before their first game.

 

 

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KING CONFIDENT TERRY PARTNERSHIP

 

Ledley King he is confident of playing alongside John Terry in a new-look central defensive partnership following Rio Ferdinand's withdrawal from the England squad. Ferdinand, who suffered a knee injury in training on Friday, is to stay with the squad for the time being at least until he is considered fit enough to manage a long-haul flight back to the UK. That will not be before England's opening game against the United States on Saturday.

 

Tottenham defender King is thought to be at the head of the queue to replace Ferdinand at the heart of the defence, despite not playing a competitive game for his country for three years. Added to that, King's chronic knee injury means he is only able to take part in limited training - and that causes additional problems as he tries to forge an understanding with Terry.

 

Coach Fabio Capello also has Matthew Upson, Jamie Carragher and Michael Dawson, Ferdinand's replacement in South Africa, at his disposal. Upson has missed recent training sessions through illness but is due to join in with the rest of the squad on Monday.

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LAMPARD CONFIDENT ROONEY HAS MATURED

 

England midfielder Frank Lampard has warned World Cup rivals against trying to wind up Wayne Rooney. Former USA defender Alexi Lalas, who played in the 1994 tournament, has suggested his country's best chance of success when the two sides meet on 12th June lies in getting under Rooney's skin.

 

The suggestion comes after Rooney received his marching orders in the World Cup quarter-final against Portugal four years ago following a clash with Ricardo Carvalho. But the 24-year-old has shown a growing maturity in recent seasons and Lampard has warned the USA players not to try and antagonise the Manchester United striker, who also became a father for the first time late last year.

 

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DROGBA IS NOT OUT

 

Didier Drogba has been tipped to make a speedy recovery after undergoing an operation on his fractured arm, but his involvement at the World Cup still appears to be in the balance. The Ivory Coast striker was forced out of his side's warm-up game against Japan on Friday and it initially seemed that his World Cup dream was in tatters.

 

However, a spokesman later stated that Drogba had not been ruled out of the tournament 'at this stage' and he has now gone under the knife. The Ivory Coast Federation (FIF) is happy with how the surgery has gone and hopes he will regain fitness as quickly as possible.

 

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