The Blues of London, Chelsea are up against the Sky Blues of Manchester, Manchester City in the 2020/21 Champions League final at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, Portugal.
Chelsea will be hoping to lift the Champions League for the second time in their history tonight, and will need to stop Manchester City from winning the competition for the first time ever, if they are to do so.
The game represents Chelsea’s third appearance in a final of the competition having previously won against Bayern Munich in 2012 and defeated by Manchester United in 2008; a club in the same city as their current opposition. Many quizzed if Chelsea will be able to defeat a Manchester side this time round or would be resurrecting the nightmares of 2008.
Manchester City who are also known as the Cityzens, on the other hand, defeated Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals to make it to their first ever appearance in the Champions League final. Pep Guardiola’s side will be looking forward to emulating the 2008 example of their city rivals, Manchester United if they are to make their first appearance, the first glory.
Meanwhile, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy believes Riyad Mahrez will be one of Manchester City’s biggest threats in the final of the Champions League on Saturday.
Ahead of his side’s encounter with the Cityzens, Mendy has praised Mahrez, describing him as one of the best African players.
“I don’t think Riyad needs any introduction, he is one of the best African players and he has played at a very high level for several years,” Mendy told BBC Sport.
“He’s also had a complicated journey and he really didn’t give up and he deserves everything that is happening to him. He will be one of his side’s biggest threats – one of Manchester City’s assets.”
Mendy suffered an injury against Aston Villa but he is now fit to play in the Champions League final and revealed his side will do all it takes to win the title.
Mahrez has been one of Africa’s most prominent players and was the most influential player during his time at Leicester City, helping them to win the Premier League in 2016 before joining Manchester City in the summer of 2018.
Mendy moved to the Premier League last summer from Rennes, teaming up with the Blues, and has quickly established himself with the side.
Many African fans will be looking forward to seeing the pair in action tonight.
A total of 16,500 fans will be allowed to attend the Champions League final as Manchester City and Chelsea received an allocation of 6,000 tickets each, with the general public free to purchase tickets from May 24.
The 2021 Champions League final will be played on Saturday, May 29 at 19:00 GMT.
