New Delhi: An eye-catching performance from Olivier Giroud’s handed over Chelsea a 1-0 against the Spanish leaders Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Atletico Madrid was forced to play in Bucharest rather than their home ground in Madrid due to Spanish restrictions on arrivals from Britain.
Chelsea’s coach Thomas Tuchel was facing hardship but managed his team intelligently, controlling the possession throughout the game. On the other side, Atletico was not able to manage any shot on target as Chelsea advances through the pole position to reach the quarter-finals.
Mason Mount and Jorgino won’t be playing the second leg on March 17 as they were suspended after being booked.
Player Rating
Atletico Madrid: Oblak (6), Llorente (6), Savic (6), Felipe (6), Hermoso (6), Saul (6), Koke (6), Lemar (6), Correa (6), Joao Félix (7), Suárez (6)
Substitutions: Torreria (6), Lodi (6), Dembele (6)
Chelsea: Mendy (7), Rudiger (7), Christensen (7), Azpilicueta (8), Alonso (7), Hudson-Odoi (8), Jorginho (7), Werner (6), Kovacic(7), Mount (7), Giroud (7)
Substitutions: Zieych (6), Kante (7), Havertz (6)
“We knew they were ready to suffer from eight people in the box. The intention was to keep the intensity high and we did that very well. We never let them breathe or come out for counter-attacks,” Tuchel stated after the match.
“We wanted to dominate in the opponents’ half, to never lose concentration, not to make any easy mistakes and always be aware of quick counter-attacks for all their quality. It was a very disciplined performance, a deserved shut out
Match Review
Chelsea created the opening against the La Liga leaders just before 15 minutes of the game, but Mason Mount’s cross failed to reach out to striker Timo Werner.
Atletico countered just before half-time with Angel Correa discovered space to break the defense, however Luiz Suarez was not happy with the short cross and remained scoreless.
The deadlock was broken on the 70th minute of the game with an astonishing overhead kick from Giroud, but it was ruled out for offside. After a video review, it was given that the ball touched an Atletico player before it was put into the net.
Giroud remarked, “I didn’t know what to think about the goal, I just focussed on hitting the overhead kick and was pleased to see it go in the back of the net, I had no clue about being offside,”
“We know the importance of the away goal in European Cups so I was pleased to help the team win the game.”
With this win, Chelsea is seeking to enter the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with an advantage in their second leg game.