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Chelsea have played Manchester City three times this season, twice in the league (home and away) and once in the FA Cup at the Bridge, winning twice and losing once. On all three occasions, we’ve won our “home” kit — Chelsea Blue doesn’t necessarily clash with City’s usual light blue with white shorts combination.
We of course will play City one more time this season, in a little over a week, when we contest the 2021 Champions League final in Porto. We are technically the “away” team, but that only rules out wearing our actual (City-esque light blue) away kits.
That leaves us with three options: the home kit, the third kit, or next year’s home kit, which is precisely what we wore in the FA Cup final last weekend. And it’s what the women’s team wore in their Champions League final last weekend. We also wore the following season’s home shirt in the 2008 Champions League final.
The common theme between those three finals? Chelsea losing.
So perhaps it’s a fantastic omen that Champions League sponsors GAZPROM appear to have confirmed in one of their promotions ahead of the final that Chelsea will be wearing our third kit from this season.
KIT NEWS
— Chelsea Exeter TV (@ChelseaExeterTV) May 20, 2021
Gazprom, an Official UEFA Champions League Sponsor, have posted this picture.
It looks like Chelsea will wear the third kit for the #UCL Final. #ChelseaExeterTV #CFC pic.twitter.com/S69HlY5Ts7
Yes, the pink/salmon/Crystal Palace number. It’s still as much of an eyesore as it was when it was announced, but fun fact: we’ve yet to lose while wearing them.
The third kit has been worn five times, twice in the league and three times in Europe, and we’ve won four times and drawn once. The only blip is the first silliness against West Brom, when we contrived to draw 3-3 at the Hawthorns (as opposed to the second, even greater silliness, when we contrivted to lose at home, 5-2). Wins and clean sheets over Newcastle (2-0), Krasnodar (4-0), Sevilla (4-0), and Porto (2-0) all featured the third kit, and that’s a pretty good trend indeed. Incidentally, the Porto match also took place in Seville, instead of Porto, which is where the final will happen!
In any case, since I counted them up, here’s our record (w-d-l) this season by shirt (all competitions):
- HOME: 24-13-7; 70:30
- AWAY: 5-0-2; 12:7
- THIRD: 4-1-0; 15:3
- NEW: 0-0-1; 0:1