Winning UCL most important moment of my career, says Silva

Chelsea's central defender Thiago Silva has said that winning the Champions League is the most important moment of his career.

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) here 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.

"It's incredible. It's the most important moment of my career. It's unforgettable. I am really very happy. To have this cup is huge. My injury? A lot of things have happened in my head. Getting out of the game very early was difficult for me. But at this level, we cannot be at 70 per cent. But I'm happy because the team stayed calm and defended well," Silva told RMC Sport, as reported by Goal.com.

"We suffered, but we did it well. In the end, we are rewarded for everything we have done. It's special for me, especially considering the pressure we had in Paris to win it. Whenever Paris was eliminated, people wanted to find a culprit and it was me all the time. It's too bad. I hope Paris will win it in the future, because I left a lot of friends there. And I will always stay red and blue," he added.

Chelsea had picked Silva up on a free transfer after his PSG departure and he went on to become a key member of the squad under Frank Lampard before reuniting with Thomas Tuchel.

In the match between both these sides, Manchester City held on to the ball for 61 per cent of the match while Chelsea kept the ball for just 39 per cent 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.

( With inputs from ANI )