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Champions League: Chelsea to face Man City in final

Real Madrid"s Thibaut Courtois makes a saveImage source, PA Media

For the second time in three years we're going to see an all-Premier League final in the Champions League.

It's after Chelsea beat the record 13-time European champions Real Madrid 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, winning 3-1 on aggregate over the two semi-finals.

Timo Werner and Mason Mount scored Chelsea's goals.

Chelsea, who won the Champions League in 2012, will now face Manchester City, who are in their first ever Champions League final.

Image source, Reuters

The Champions League final will take place in Istanbul in Turkey on 29 May.

Chelsea beat Man City in last month's FA Cup semi-final and also face them in the Premier League on Saturday.

But Blues boss Thomas Tuchel says Manchester City are still the "benchmark".

What does 'on aggregate' mean?
  • The two clubs drawn as a pair play each other twice, at home and away. The winner is decided by adding together the scores from the two games — the aggregate score.

  • If the aggregate score is tied, then the winner is the club that scored more goals on its opponent's field (usually referred to as the away goals rule).

Image source, PA Media
Image caption,

Antonio Rudiger's joy was clear to see when the final whistle was blown

How did Chelsea get to the final?

The team has seen big improvements since Tuchel took charge in January.

A top-four league finish in the Premier League is within their grasp, and they will start the FA Cup final against Leicester as favourites.

Image source, PA Media
Image caption,

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is the former boss of Borussia Dortmund and Paris St-Germain

Former Chelsea and Scotland winger Pat Nevin said: "Even though Manchester City can win the Premier League title against Chelsea on Saturday, it's a far bigger game for Chelsea.

"This could be the biggest season in Chelsea's entire history. They could win both Champions Leagues - men's and women's - win the FA Cup and finish in the top four.

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

Riyad Mahrez is only the second player to score in both legs of a Champions League semi-final for an English club after Sadio Mane in 2017-18

"On the other hand, they could win absolutely nothing and they could blow it and miss out on the top four - and miss out on the Champions League next season."

How did Man City get to the final?

Manchester City beat last year's finalists Paris St-Germain (PSG) in their semi-final.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Mbappe scored eight times in four Champions League games earlier in the season but failed to score against City in the two games

Despite having superstars like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in their squad, PSG were beaten home and away by Man City.

City have already won the League Cup this season and are one win away from the Premier League title.