Unrivalled Chelsea Champions League night of destiny remembered as Roman Abramovich era ends

It is probably reading too much into Chelsea's current situation to feel that on the day of the 10-year anniversary of the Blues' iconic Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich in 2012, the end of the Roman Abramovich era could not have been better summarised than that night.

Few words can do it justice, the twist and turns, the tension that I still feel watching the game back today, a feeling that no other rewatching of a major game has given me. It symbolised a golden generation of Chelsea players and, more broadly, how it cinematically concluded a near 10-year chase for the holy grail.

Winning the Champions League in the Allianz is unlikely to be topped by any future team in Royal Blue, simply for the power of it being the first time and the series of chaotic events that led to its ending that dreamy May night.

I was not out in Munich, but I knew several who were, some who had travelled to Germany without a ticket, eventually watching the game in fan zones outnumbered by local Bayern fans. After Didier Drogba's winning penalty went in, it was astonishing that night going out around my local streets on the way to soak up the joy around Stamford Bridge.

Most hilariously, one supporter just in his underwear barreled out of his flat to hug me and my Dad, two people he'd never met before. I haven't seen this man since, but on that night, every Chelsea fan was in sync. We had all felt the pain of the ghost goal, the penalty heartbreak of Moscow and the disgrace of a certain official's performance in 2009.

Although 2021's triumph was highly emotional, the journey to it was measured and controlled, as was the final win over Manchester City. Thomas Tuchel's squad had been defensively assured, ruthless on the break and