Chelsea defeated a 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to secure their spot in the last eight of the Champions League for the first time in seven years as they won 3-0 on aggregate.
The Blues took a 1-0 lead into the second leg but refused to rest on their laurels taking the lead in the first half through Hakim Ziyech.
Atletico were more attacking in the second half but their frustrations were made evident as Stefan Savic saw red in the 81st minute and Emerson Palmieri compiled the misery by adding a second Chelsea goal in stoppage time.
Defensive solidity continues Under Thomas Tuchel
Chelsea recorded their 11th clean sheet in just 13 matches under Thomas Tuchel and are yet to concede at home under the German manager.
After progressing to the next round, Tuchel insisted his side were deserved winners and were never intimidated by the challenge of facing the LaLiga leaders.
He said: ‘We were not afraid of Atletico, they are a very tough team to play but so are we and everybody enjoyed the battle.
‘It was an unbelievable team performance, from the guys on the pitch to the guys on the bench and in the stands and we are deservedly through.
‘They tried to press us very high in the first half but that opened up some spaces for our attackers to exploit and we scored a fantastic goal which gave us a lot of confidence.
‘We had chances to get the second goal soon after and decide the game but it was not possible so in the second half we had to suffer for many minutes but we were ready to do what was necessary and in the end, we got a deserved win.’
Lucky break for the Blues
Chelsea seemed comfortable early on as Atletico Madrid started the second leg with an intent to press the hosts high up the pitch.
However, in the 25th minute the Blues nearly shot themselves in the foot when Cesar Azpilicueta’s casual backpass gave Atleti winger Yannick Carrasco the chance to chase the ball down. The Spanish defender resorted to subtly impeding the Belgian inside the box to deceive the referee and VAR who somehow decided not to check the incident.
Chelsea capitalised on the decision that went in their favour and took the lead on the night just nine minutes later with a sweeping counter-attack. Summer signings Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech all combined to allow Ziyech to roll the ball into the net through Jan Oblak’s legs.
The goal bred further confidence into the side that are now unbeaten in 14 matches in all competitions and they almost extended their aggregate lead to three when Mateo Kovacic’s curling effort whistled just wide of the post on the brink of half-time.
Following the break, Chelsea continued their dominance and Werner raced down the right wing before his shot was well saved by Oblak to keep the Madrid outfit within touching distance of the Blues.
Soon after, Ziyech looked to double his tally from 20-yards out but Oblak was once again equal to the effort to tip the curling effort over the bar.
Atletico frustrations grow against a resolute defence
Atletico Madrid looked to mount a late charge and Joao Felix drilled a shot on target from a tight angle but Edouard Mendy was equal to the effort and palmed the ball down before N’Golo Kante cleared fully.
Two minutes later, Felix again found a pocket of space on the edge of the box to shoot before Azpilicueta’s deflection took the effort narrowly wide of the far post.
The passage of play that followed saw the tie fall firmly into the hands of the hosts as Savic elbowed Antonio Rudiger in the midriff and received a red card as a result.
Yet, the visitors remained a threat and Moussa Dembele reacted first to Mendy’s block but couldn’t sort his feet out to direct his effort between the posts from a tight angle.
Then again it was Felix who broke through on goal in the 92nd minute but his powerful shot was straight at Mendy who reacted well to palm over.
However, as 10-man Atleti threw men forward in a desperate attempt to salvage the game it left them further exposed to the counter-attack. And substitute Emerson put the tie beyond doubt by drilling the ball into the bottom corner with his first touch of the match in what was his first minute of action since Tuchel’s arrival at the club.
Chelsea joined Liverpool and Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the tournament which takes place on Friday morning, as all three English sides progressed through the round of 16 with relative ease.
