With thousands of fans expected to jet to Portugal to watch Chelsea and Manchester City battle it out on Saturday week to be crowned kings of Europe, it’s too close a match to call.
A few days ago, when Chelsea heads dropped after losing to Leicester in the FA Cup final at Wembley, it seemed that City would start the clear favourites.
Then City lost to Brighton and the Blues beat the Foxes in early-week Premier League games, and suddenly it looks an open contest once again.
Crucial to Chelsea’s hopes is the form of creative talent Mason Mount, just named as the club’s Player of the Year – the first graduate of the academy to lift the glass trophy since John Terry.
And it’s JT that Chelsea come up against on the final day of the league season on Sunday, when the Blues travel to Villa Park hopeful of getting a result that keeps them ahead of Liverpool and Leicester in the war for Champions League slots next year.
If nippy forward Timo Werner can somehow manage to stay onside, and if the Blues show the passion and intensity that was on display when they held off Leicester for a 2-1 win on Tuesday, they should be fine.
It felt so different to be witnessing football in front of fans once again, although with only Blues supporters in the stadium there was an eerie silence when the Foxes clawed a goal back for a tense final quarter of an hour at Stamford Bridge.
With Jorginho comfortably beating Casper Schmeichel from the penalty spot, after Tony Rudiger netted the first, off his thigh, at the start of the second half.
On paper, comparing players, Premier champions Manchester City may have the edge ahead of the Champions League final, but Thomas Tuchel is as wily a tactician as Pep Guardiola, and anything can happen in 90 minutes.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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