Chelsea legend Alan Hudson believes the club’s 2-1 Premier League win over Manchester City yesterday could end up being crucial in the build-up to their meeting in the Champions League final later this month.
The Blues snatched a late victory at the Etihad Stadium yesterday thanks to a goal from Marcos Alonso, and it meant City have been made to wait a little longer to be crowned Premier League champions.
Pep Guardiola’s body language certainly didn’t look great as he reacted to Chelsea’s winning goal at the death, and Hudson thinks this means Thomas Tuchel will be sleeping more easily ahead of their big game in Istanbul.
“This was a huge psychological blow to Pep and his players, who compared to Chelsea looked like their season is ending, whereas Chelsea have just begun,” Hudson told CaughtOffside.
“I said they’d be unbeaten in the three remaining matches with City and apart from a calamitous two minutes before half time, they won with ease.
“The penalty miss from Sergio Aguero was as important as Edouard Mendy’s fantastic save from Karim Benzema. That one moment that changes the course of a match.
“Tuchel will sleep a lot better than Pep in the days leading up to the big one, I think that says it all. All of a sudden Pep has to think twice about how to break Chelsea down.”
Chelsea beat Real Madrid to make their third Champions League final, while Man City will be in their first ever final in the competition after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
City will long have been regarded as favourites for the trophy, but there’s no doubt Chelsea’s superb form right now, as well as their recent league and FA Cup wins over Guardiola’s side, will make this all-English final an intriguing contest.