GRAND THEFT PORTO! FINAL GOING TO PORTUGAL INSTEAD OF WEMBLEY

PORTUGAL rather than Wembley will be confirmed today as host of the Champions League final on May 29. UEFA, Government officials and the FA had met to discuss switching Chelsea v Manchester City from Istanbul to Wembley after Turkey was put on England’s travel red list. But the Government could not give guarantees of quarantine exemptions to UEFA staff travelling to London. Now Porto’s Estadio do Dragao is expected to be given the game. Pep Guardiola’s old foe, Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz, will referee the final. Lahoz sent Guardiola to the stands in City’s quarter-final loss to Liverpool in 2018, with the City boss sarcastically calling him a ‘special guy’ in the aftermath.

Guardiola, meanwhile, had his Premier League champions back in training hours after celebrating their title triumph. City’s squad and first-team staff made their way to the City Football Academy on Tuesday night to toast a third crown in four years. Players enjoyed red wine and bottles of beer in a party soundtracked by dance music from the likes of Weiss. But Guardiola resisted the temptation to offer them a day off. The City squad reported for duty early yesterday for a session in preparation for tomorrow’s game at Newcastle. Steve Bruce’s side are expected to form a guard of honour for City — as are Brighton on Tuesday — before the champions lift the trophy in front of 10,000 fans after the final game against Everton. Captain Fernandinho and the outgoing Sergio Aguero will raise the silverware together at the Etihad Stadium. ‘You only win big trophies with big teams,’ said midfielder Rodri. ‘We are team-mates but we are more than that, we are friends. We almost live the same life as a second family. ‘It’s a dream. The mental strength of the team gave us the Premier League. It’s a celebration of hard work.’ City are the first club to achieve a clean sweep of the top divisions in one season. Their Under 18s finished top of the Premier League North and the Under 23s won their title, too.