Chelsea defeated Atletico Madrid 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the 2nd leg of UEFA Champions League Round of 16. As a result, the Blues qualify for the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2014 with a 3-0 aggregate win.
Hakim Ziyech and Emerson were the goalscorers after a tough defensive performance by the English club. However, the club they are going to face next would be an even difficult encounter as the Quarterfinals draw is going to occur today at 5.30 PM IST.
Thomas Tuchel is enjoying a dream start to his new club with a 13-match unbeaten run, winning 9 matches and drawing the rest four matches. Also, the Londoners have conceded just 2 goals so far and were successful in keeping opponents like Luis Suarez and Joao Felix at bay.
Current Premier League Standings
Chelsea 2-0 Atletico Madrid Team News:
Tuchel fielded a typical 3-4-2-1 formation keeping Olivier Giroud at the bench. Hakim Ziyech started instead of Mason Mount whereas N’Golo Kante started instead of Jorginho.
However, the visitors started with an attacking 4-4-2 formation. They were coming with a 0-0 away draw at Getafe and were keen on overturning the deficit.
Chelsea 2-0 Atletico Madrid Post-Match Analysis:
Chelsea were looking confident ahead of defending the opponents spearheaded by clinical Luis Suarez and Joao Felix. The game was pretty even until the 34th minute when finally Hakim Ziyech finally found the back of the net.
Edouard Mendy along with the back three were completely focused and were successful in keeping the opponents away from the goal line. With N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic doing exactly what the coach expected from them.
“If you play with NG, you always play with minimum half a man more because he gives an intensity volume that is simply outstanding, and this is unique.” – Thomas Tuchel, impressed by Kante.
Mendy forced some crucial saves to deny Suarez and Felix towards the end. However, Emerson Palmieri emerged as the “super-sub” scoring at the 94th minute assisted by another substitute, Christian Pulisic.
Notable Performances
N’Golo Kante (8.5/10) – Kante was the star man in this big fixture. He made 13 ball recoveries and also created 2 chances upfront. He deserves to be the Man of the Match.
Hakim Ziyech (8/10) – Ziyech is back to his best form and really deserved a goal after being the main target man for Chelsea in this match.
Stefan Savic (4/10) – A poor performance from him and the red card made the things look more terrible. The defence couldn’t stop the attacks of Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner at times.
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