Chelsea Takes European Football Championship 

With crowds able to attend various sporting events throughout the world we watched the 2021 European Football “Soccer” championship played at the third largest football stadium in Portugal; Estadio Do Dragao in Porto, Portugal with a seating capacity of 50,033.

The event saw a change in venue May 13th which was initially slated to be played in Istanbul at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium after the United Kingdom placed Turkey on its “red list” all due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. 

It’s reported that authorities in Portugal confirmed that a stadium capacity of 33 percent or up to 16,500 spectators. 

Both Chelsea Football Club and Manchester City are each allowed to send 6,000 apiece, which is the same amount to have been allowed in Ataturk Olympic Stadium;  plus 1,700 general public tickets, and 2,000 UEFA partners.

Portugal is on the UK’s “green list” and fans traveling back from the Champions League final will not have to be subject to a quarantine period.

The stadium was constructed to replace Porto’s former ground, the Estádio das Antas, along with becoming one of the host venues for the UEFA Euro 2004 final tournament. 

The all England featured English League rivals Chelsea played their rival Manchester City left it’s legacy on one of the most absurd tournaments in the history of the Champions League. 

Several soccer fanatics made the trek to watch in a match that saw Chelsea’s Kai Havertz repay a portion of his huge transfer fee scoring a first-half goal that secured a 1-nil win over Manchester City in the Champions League final. 

The Premier League champion Man City were the favorites heading into the final but suffered a disappointing match in what was their first Champions League final. 

Chelsea’s youngster from Germany jumped onto a cross pass from Mason Mount managing to send one past Manchester City’s keeper Ederson before rolling the ball into an empty net in the 42nd minute. 

Pep Guardiola’s side were unable to play their normal match and could not respond as a disciplined Chelsea sealed a second Champions League triumph.

The 66th Champions League final saw the London club capture their second championship in the all England match.

The game’s only goal was scored by Kai Havertz in the 41st minute to give Chelsea the lead in the game just before halftime which beat Manchester goalie Moreas taking the one goal lead to halftime. 

The second half saw Manchester City look to grab the equalizer but both goalies played desperate, being forced to face quality shots, some of which never hit the target but in the end it was Chelsea’s Wemer who  posted the shutout win.  

Chelsea celebrated the second European Championship championship in the club’s history given the COVID-19 Pandemic over the past 15 months when the sporting world abruptly came to a stop. 

Chelsea’s win put an abrupt halt to Pep Guardiola’s dream of lifting the trophy for the third time, a decade on from his last triumph. 

Locally we can’t wait until the return of Soccer in Vancouver for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.