Manchester City fans far and wide are suffering today, following the club’s gut-wrenching defeat to Chelsea in last night’s Champions League final.
The Citizens were unable to win the trophy they covet the most, with Kai Havertz scoring the game’s only goal in Porto.
It was not a terrible showing from City, but Thomas Tuchel simply had all the answers against Pep Guardiola’s side.
Arguably, the lack of a holding midfielder for City was a major factor in Chelsea scoring their goal, and then some fine defending saw them hold out for the win.
In the end, City really lacked the ruthlessness they are so known for just when it was needed the most, and Arsene Wenger reckons the pressure got to the players.
Speaking as a pundit for beIN SPORTS, the former Arsenal boss said: “On the night I must say it looked to me that being favourites was a heavy burden for Manchester City.
“From the start on they didn’t have their usual decisiveness, aggression and they lost many duels.”
One man who won plenty of duels for Chelsea was N’Golo Kante, whom Wenger described as ‘absolutely unbelievable’.
A learning experience
Perhaps there was a bit of discomfort on City’s part being favourites heading into the game.
Plus the fact it was uncharted waters for everyone except Ilkay Gundogan and Pep Guardiola.
It’s inevitable City will be back in a Champions League final, but hopefully the wait will not be too long.
Ideally many of these players will use this losing experience to fuel themselves the next time around.
