Chelsea won their first piece of silverware under head coach Thomas Tuchel on Saturday evening after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League final in Porto.
Attacking-midfielder Kai Havertz picked the perfect moment to score his very first goal in the competition, netting the only goal of the game just three minutes before half time.
Havertz latched onto Mason Mount’s excellent pass, knocked the ball beyond Ederson in the City goal and then kept his cool to roll it into the back of an empty net. That was enough to seal the trophy for the Blues, ensuring they ended the 2020/21 campaign in style.
Winning the Champions League was Chelsea’s final hope of winning a trophy this season, as they had recently lost the FA Cup final, seen their Premier League title aspirations fade away by January and crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur back in September at the fourth-round stage.
Next season, though, the Blues will have aspirations of winning multiple trophies on offer, especially after sending out a warning to the rest of Europe that they are a force to be reckoned with. While Chelsea, at the start of this season, had four trophies to win, next season they will have the chance to win five.
That is because, as a result of Saturday’s win over City, the Blues will participate in the FIFA Club World Cup later this year, meaning they will have the chance to be crowned club champions of the World.
Liverpool were the last English side to win it, securing the title in 2019 after winning the Champions League at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.
But when will Chelsea take part in the competition and who will they face?
As things currently stand, Chelsea will participate in the Club World Cup towards the end of the year in December. The tournament, which has not yet been handed an exact start date, will take place in Japan and be contested between four clubs by the time Chelsea enter the competition at the semi-final stage.
At this moment in time, Chelsea are the only club to have confirmed their spot in the tournament, with the remaining sides yet to qualify.
While Chelsea have qualified as Champions League winners, the other sides involved will come from various other avenues, including the winners of the Copa
The Champions League final is almost upon us.
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Chelsea have featured in the Club World Cup once, finishing second in 2012, losing to Corinthians in the final by a goal to nil.
Bayern Munich are the current holders of the competition, lifting the trophy back in February, after last year’s tournament was delayed due to Covid-19.
