'Did what I thought was the best decision': Pep Guardiola on team selection for UCL finalAfter suffering a defeat in the finals of the Champions League against Chelsea, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said his side managed to have an exceptional season, and hopefully they will play the final of the top European competition once again. A sole strike from Kai Havertz helped Chelsea defeat Manchester City 1-0 in the finals of the UEFA Champions League on Saturday (local time) at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto. This was the first time that Chelsea had made it to the finals of the Champions League after winning the title way back in 2012.

Manchester City was playing their first-ever finals of the Champions League. Pep Guardiola's side had earlier won the Premier League and Carabao Cup in the 2020-21 season.

"I did what I thought was the best decision [on his team selection]. Kevin de Bruyne got injured but that happens in this competition and in these games. We needed everyone. The ambition now is to rest but then prepare for the next season. It was the first time we were at this stage. Hopefully, we will be here again in the future," Guardiola told BT Sport, as reported by Goal.com.

"It has been an exceptional season for us. It was a tight game. We had chances. We were brilliant in the second half, we were brave and we could not convert the chances as they were so strong. The players were exceptional. We come back maybe one day again," he added.

Further talking about the team selection, Guardiola said: "There were three or four moments with crosses from the byline but we did not arrive. I did the selection best to win the game, the players know it. I think Gundogan played good, was exceptional. We missed a lttle but in the first half to break the lines. In the second half it was much better." "It was a tight game. We had enormous almost-chances. I did my best in the selection. Like last season against Olympique Lyon, like it was against PSG and Dortmund," he added.

In the match between both these sides, Manchester City held on to the ball for 61 percent of the match while Chelsea kept the ball for just 39 percent of the match. However, City was not able to capitalise.

City had just one shot on target in the entire match while Chelsea had two shots on target. Havertz's goal finally came in the 42nd minute of the match and this gave Chelsea a 1-0 lead in the match, and this threw Manchester City on the backfoot.

City tried their best to get the equaliser but Chelsea's defense managed to hang on and in the end, the Blues walked away with a famous victory.

This title win is the major shot in the arm for Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel as he was put in charge of the club just five months earlier. He had replaced Frank Lampard as the coach.

Source : DNA India