Sergio Aguero was the last of the Manchester City players to leave the pitch. He was in tears. His first and last Premier League games for City had brought braces as a substitute but a 13-minute cameo in the Champions League final was barren.
There was no perfect goodbye for Aguero. With Fernandinho, another substitute, out of contract in the summer, defeat to Chelsea in Porto may mean none of City's greatest generation win the Champions League.
Yaya Toure, David Silva and Vincent Kompany had not, Aguero and perhaps Fernandinho will not. The focus will instead switch to their successors. If part of Pep Guardiola’s feats this season was to prove he could build a second superb side, its stalwarts may fear they will suffer the same fate.
Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, the 2015 signings who predated Guardiola but were bought with him in mind, came off, the Belgian bruised by a collision with Antonio Rudiger, the Englishman an unexpected inclusion who could not have the desired impact.
The bare facts were that City fielded a more attack-minded team than most envisaged and yet registered a solitary shot on target. The margins can be small – and Edouard Mendy stood and watched as Riyad Mahrez’s injury-time half-volley only just cleared the bar – but City can feel both so near and so far away. Their decade of disappointment on the European stage means there is no guarantee they will emulate Liverpool, who were runners-up in 2018 and winners in 2019.
Guardiola has railed against predictions City should dominate in Europe. The Premier League’s competitiveness may make it harder for its sides to sustain a continental challenge year in, year out as Real Madrid and Barcelona used to.
He has become the master of league campaigns, the only manager ever to win three major European divisions three times, but knockout football brings its own vagaries. Chelsea, Champions League winners in two seasons when they changed manager in a midwinter malaise, are proof, even if that says something about their peculiar DNA.
Over 38 games, Guardiola tends to get the vast majority of his decisions right, some spectacularly. Over one, individual choices can define seasons. He is aware of the charge often levelled at him, that he overthinks things in major European games. Saturday added to the case for the prosecution.
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Man City v Chelsea: Champions League final ratings
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MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson – 6. The goalkeeper’s sensational pass to set up Sterling for an early chance, but he later charged out and missed Havertz for the goal. AFP -
Kyle Walker – 6. His influence was delayed by his intense battle with Chilwell, but he brought some life to the City attack late on with some long diagonal passes. AFP -
Ruben Dias – 7. Started as he meant to go on with a brave early block on Havertz. Untroubled for the most part thereafter, even if he did end of the losing side. Reuters -
John Stones – 6. Made an uncharacteristically nervy start, but improved as the game wore on. His foul on Rudiger in injury time deprived City of a possible chance to level. EPA -
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6. Earned his place ahead of Joao Cancelo by dint of his semifinal excellence, but failed to match that standard. He lost Havertz for the goal, and it proved crucial. Getty -
Ilkay Gundogan – 6. Booked for kicking Mount in the shin. Overrun by Kante, which is hardly the biggest crime, and he could not bring his usual influence to bear. AFP -
Kevin De Bruyne – 6. Left the field with a bruised eye – and a broken heart by the look of it, after a clash of heads with Rudiger prematurely curtailed his evening. AFP -
Bernardo Silva – 5. Did some of the destructive stuff that Fernandinho usually does, at the expense of his creativity – making his selection in that role seem odd. Reuters -
Riyad Mahrez – 7. His threat was largely nullified by his old Leicester teammate Chilwell, although he did become more prominence as the game became stretched in the second half. Sent City’s final chance inches wide. Getty -
Raheem Sterling – 5. Well shackled by James, although he did find dangerous positions at times. Took the captain’s armband when De Bruyne went off, only to be replaced himself not long after. EPA -
Phil Foden – 6. The England forward was denied the opener by a sliding stop by Rudiger, and struggled to fashion any clear openings thereafter. EPA -
SUBS: Gabriel Jesus – 6. Not exactly a like for like swap for the injured De Bruyne, and the chances he had to impact the game after coming on for City’s captain were few. Getty -
Fernandinho – N/A. Straight into the old routine, breaking up play and somehow avoiding being booked, when he came on in the second half. But surely City would’ve benefitted from him starting? Getty -
Sergio Aguero – N/A. Only had one chance of note after coming on for his late farewell, but could only chip into Mendy’s gloves. Reuters -
CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy – 7. Brilliantly screened by the defence in front of him, and was able to celebrate the ideal triumph at the end of his fairy tale rise. EPA -
Reece James - 8. Coped admirably with the threat of Sterling – notwithstanding the early chance from Ederson’s long ball. Might have had his heart in his mouth when Foden’s shot bounced off his chest on to his arm. Getty -
Thiago Silva – 6. Visibly upset when he succumbed to a groin strain seven minutes before halftime, but still had to wherewithal to rally he replacement, Christensen, before he went off. AP -
Antonio Rudiger – 7. His immaculately timed intervention to stop Foden opening the scoring for City. Involuntarily involved in another vital incident: it was his head that put De Bruyne out of the game. AP -
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7. Canny positioning allowed him to clear from a Mahrez cross. Overshadowed by his backline colleagues, but did all that was required of him. EPA -
N’golo Kante – 9.5. To think there was talk beforehand that he was struggling with injury. Imagine if he had been fully fit. An extraordinary performance – but that is more or less standard for him. AFP -
Jorginho – 7. Benefitted from operating in Kante's slipstream. Did not provide anything appreciable going forward, but his canniness helped Chelsea see out the win. Getty -
Ben Chilwell – 8. Made a timely interception to clear a Sterling cross early on. Lucky to get away without conceding when Walker charged past him later in the half, but edged the battle with his England colleague. AFP -
Mason Mount – 8. Served notice to City with some fine passing even before he laid on the assist for the Havertz goal. Earned the ovation he was given when subbed with 10 minutes to go. AP -
Kai Havertz – 7. Provided a cool finish when one-on-one with Ederson as he struck the decisive goal just before the interval. Laid on what should have been the settler for Pulisic, only for the American to shoot wide. AFP -
Timo Werner – 5. Easy to cringe at his finishing. He had an air shot when well placed with Chelsea’s first chance, then shot straight at Ederson when he should have scored shortly after. Refuses to give up, though. Getty -
SUBS: Andreas Christensen – 8. On for the injured Thiago Silva before the interval, and provided everything his side needed with two crucial blocks. Getty -
Christian Pulisic – N/A. Could have settled the game for Chelsea as he raced through on goal, only to scoop his shot wide of Ederson’s post. Reuters -
Mateo Kovacic – N/A. Watched two Champions League finals from the Real Madrid bench, and finally got to play in one as a late sub for Mount. Getty
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Guardiola picked a curiously timid team against Lyon last year. Sacrificing a defensive midfielder to get Sterling into the team against Chelsea came at a cost when Mason Mount turned in the space where a specialist might have been to release Kai Havertz for the goal.
N’Golo Kante’s ubiquitous display – winning 11 duels and 10 ball recoveries – turned the final into an advertisement for a defensive midfielder. City pressed Ilkay Gundogan into service as one, nullifying the attacking threat of their 17-goal top scorer.
Gundogan can be an unwitting constant in misguided schemes. The 2019 exit to Tottenham was an illustration a wonderful technician can be exposed as a defensive midfielder by quick counter-attackers; in 2018 at Anfield he was miscast in a role off the right.
The quest for a winning formula can entail a host of ideas. Guardiola’s strategy of teaming up likeminded attacking midfielders paid dividends when Phil Foden, Mahrez and De Bruyne scored eight goals between them in the quarter- and semi-finals.
There may be a temptation to blame Guardiola for his system but it should be resisted. It has propelled City further than before. The false nine policy worked to such an extent that they only lost one game this season when the supposed spearhead was actually a midfielder. Sadly for them, it was the biggest match in their history.
