Christian Pulisic became the first American male to appear in a Champions League Final. Not long later, he became the first USMNT player to lift the big-eared trophy after participating in the final, helping Chelsea over the line in a 1-0 defeat of Manchester City in a tight, edgy affair on Saturday at Estádio do Dragão in Porto, Portugal.
Putting on a live broadcast from across the globe is no easy task. But when it’s the biggest game of the club season, you expect one of America’s oldest broadcasters to be able to figure out something that millions of Twitch streamers do every day. And yet the Champions League Final audio wasn’t synced at the start of the match on Saturday.
An American is guaranteed to win the men’s UEFA Champions League for the first time ever on Saturday, but they won’t do it as starters. Both Christian Pulisic and Zack Steffen were left on the bench to start the match between Chelsea and Manchester City, which kicks off at 3 p.m. ET from Portugal.
No, he’s on the bench.
With the 2021 Champions League Final between Manchester City and Chelsea on Saturday, this week has been full of conjecture over the future of the competition. While the Super League appears to have (mostly) died down, a few fairly major changes to Champions League rules could be on the cards, including away goals, substitutions and a “Final Four.”
PORTO, Portugal — Manchester City face Chelsea in the Champions League final on Saturday. Here are five key tactical battles to watch out for.
WILL CHELSEA'S WING-BACKS BE ABLE TO ATTACK?
Thomas Tuchel's system at Chelsea has been designed to give licence to the wing backs to attack, whether it be Cesar Azpilicueta or Reece James on the right and Ben Chilwell or Marcos Alonso on the left, the German has players who are effective in transition and provide width.
BARCELONA — Barcelona will not apologize for its role in creating the failed European Super League and will appeal against any punishment from UEFA, president Joan Laporta said on Friday.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus are the last ones standing of the 12 clubs that signed up to the breakaway project in April, only for it to unravel when all six English sides plus Inter Milan, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid withdrew.
These are the nights that live long in the memory. This was a night Villarreal will never forget. The Yellow Submarine defeated Manchester United after an epic Europa League final shootout, claiming Europe’s secondary club competition 11-10 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the first 120 minutes on Wednesday in Gdánsk, Poland.
Gerard Moreno and Edinson Cavani both scored in regulation to send the match to extra time, which finished scoreless to set the stage for an incredible penalty kick shootout.
All eyes will be on Manchester City and Chelsea for the men’s Champions League Final on Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Porto. The grandest annual spectacle in the sports world pits two English clubs in competition for the iconic big-eared trophy, and a USMNT player is guaranteed to win for the first time. Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch Champions League Final in USA.
Has an American player won the Champions League? Yes. (Come May 29, 2021.)
It hadn’t happened before (although Ali Krieger, Gina Lewandowski and Alex Morgan have won the UWCL), but with Christian Pulisic’s Chelsea playing Zack Steffen’s Manchester City in the 2020-21 Champions League Final, the answer to that question is now a foregone conclusion.
There will obviously be some hotshots among us who’ll question the contributions of the USMNT stars. Steffen is Ederson’s understudy and only started City’s final group match against Marseille, keeping a clean sheet.
Playing in its first UEFA Women’s Champions League Final, Chelsea was embarrassed by Barcelona in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Sunday evening, 4-0.
Barcelona had advanced to the 2019 final before getting crushed by four first-half goals from Lyon, but the Blaugrana accomplished the same feat against the Blues to capture the club’s first-ever UCL title on the women’s side.