Chelsea picked up a 2-0 win over Porto in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League earlier tonight.
Thomas Tuchel will be pleased with his side’s showing in the first leg and the Blues will now fancy their chances of going through to the semis.
After the weekend defeat against West Brom, the Londoners needed a response like this and the fans can be pleased with what they have seen here. Thiago Silva was dropped to the bench after his antics against the Baggies at the weekend. Kante, Giroud and Abraham started on the bench as well.
The Blues came into this game as the favourites and they did not disappoint.
The Portuguese outfit started the game well with their high pressing, and they dominated the possession early on. However, the likes of Mount, Havertz and Werner did well to get past the press and test the home side on the counter.
Chelsea’s game plan was evident from the start with Tuchel’s choice of formation and team selection. The German lined his side up in a 3-4-2-1 formation and Chelsea played on the counter with pace and directness.
Although the Blues were not easy on the eye, they did the basics well and managed to grind out the result efficiently. Porto had more shots, more dribbles and they won more duels as well. However, they struggled to contain Chelsea’s pace and incision on the break.
The home side will be disappointed to have come away without scoring especially after the way they played against Juventus in the earlier round.
Tuchel’s setup nullified their pressing approach. The Blues defended deep and did not allow the home side to win balls high up the pitch and put the Chelsea back three under pressure. Edouard Mendy produced a solid display in between the posts as well.
Mason Mount scored the opening goal of the game on the 32nd minute after being set up by Jorginho. Ben Chilwell wrapped up the scoring in the second half. The left-back went round the keeper and slotted the ball into the Porto net on the 85th minute.
Mount was arguably the best player on the pitch once again and the youngster continues to grow with every game.
The Blues had the opportunities to add to their lead but Pulisic struck the bar and Havertz failed to score in an empty net.
Thomas Tuchel reached the Champions League final with PSG last season and he has a very good chance of doing so again with Chelsea this time.
This was Chelsea’s first quarter-final since 2013-14 season and it will be interesting to see if the Blues can go all the way in the competition this year.
For the first time since March 2012 against Napoli (John Terry & Frank Lampard), Chelsea have had two different English players score for them in the same UEFA Champions League match (Mason Mount & Ben Chilwell). Lions.
Line-ups
Porto
Agustín Marchesín, Zaidu Sanusi, Pepe, Chancel Mbemba, Wilson Manafá, Otavio, Mateus Uribe, Marko Grujic, Jesús Corona, Luis Díaz, Moussa Marega
Substitutes
Cláudio Ramos, Malang Sarr, Diogo Leite, Joao Mário, Mamadou Loum, Nanu, Fábio Vieira, Romário Baró, Felipe Anderson, Evanlison, Toni Martínez, Chico Conceição
Chelsea
Edouard Mendy, Antonio Rüdiger, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ben Chilwell, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Reece James, Timo Werner, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz
Substitutes
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Willy Caballero, Emerson, Thiago Silva, Marcos Alonso, Kurt Zouma, N’Golo Kante, Tammy Abraham, Hakim Ziyech, Olivier Giroud, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Christian Pulisic
