Tactical Preview: The 2021 UEFA Champions League Final

With the Champions League Final just a few days away, this article analyses the previous match played between Chelsea and Manchester City and seeks to find out what challenges lie ahead for both teams on the big night. Both teams did not field their best eleven in the game, but there were some patterns that they used that probably will re-occur for their final game of the season.

Pep Guardiola fielded a back three with Rúben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Aké with Rodri as the single pivot. Raheem Sterling and Ferran Torres played in the midfield with Sergio Agüero and Gabriel Jesus forming a partnership up front.

On the other hand, Thomas Tuchel utilized a back three of Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rüdiger and César Azpilicueta with N'Golo Kanté and the 19-year-old Scottish midfielder Billy Gilmour forming the double pivot. In attack, they had Timo Werner in the center with Christian Pulisic on the right and Hakim Ziyech on the left.