A word from Thomas Tuchel: “A very good performance, unbelievable effort, unbelievable team effort, from the guys on the pitch, the guys on the bench and even the guys on the stands” he tells Des Kelly, with a comedy reference to Thiago Silva. “I could really feel that we totally wanted it and we go through deservedly. It was a big win for us.”
On Chelsea’s counter-attack goal: “We had the possibility to hurt them on the counter-attack. They pressed us very high in the first half but they opened up some spaces at the back of midfield that we could exploit and score a fantastic goal that gave us some confidence. After that, we could have made a second goal and in the second half we also suffered. It was another top performance with a deserved win.”
Another clean sheet: “We missed today Andreas [Christensen] who got ill overnight, we missed Thiago [Silva] for many weeks, which are big personalities for us and big qualities for us. And Zou steps up, I tell him in the morning you play and he steps up with a performance like that ... and I think that the guys protect themselves. Defensive work is about team-work, it’s about courage and it’s about reliability, that they can feel safe around each other. This is what it takes, but it’s about having a good goalkeeper and a bit of a luck and you get another clean sheet.”
On Atletico’s penalty shout: “Maybe, I didn’t see it but I was a bit frightened on the sideline.”
Upon being told it probably should have been a penalty. “Oh, ok. I think Azpi got a bit frightened because the ball was abit too short, so I did not see it but I was a bit firghtened.”
Match report: Chelsea 2-0 Atlético Madrid (Agg: 3-0)
David Hytner was at Stamford Bridge for the Guardian to watch Chelsea make light work of Atl´etico Madrid. Here’s how he saw the action unfold.
Elsewhere in the Champions League: Holders Bayern Munich have breezed in the last eight, beating Lazio by the odd goal of three on the night, to win the tie 6-2 on aggregate.
Hakim Ziyech speaks: “We had some difficult moments in the game but I think most of the time we had it under control,” he tells BT Sport’s Des Kelly. Asked about his first goal at Stamford Bridge, he says “it was an important one and I had to wait a long time for it.”
The perfect counter-attack? “Yeah, we take the ball good from midfield ... we use Timo in space and ... yeah, he had a good delivery and it was a good finish.”
JHe’s a man of few words is Hakim and he looks like he’d rather be anywhere else.
La Liga clubs have now played Premier League teams six times in Europe this season. The aggregate score is Premier League 11-0 La Liga. 😬
— Colin Millar (@Millar_Colin) March 17, 2021
A quick recap: Atletico Madrid had a strong penalty shout turned down before Chelsea took the lead on the night through Kai Havertz. Despite squandering several chances they failed to add to their tally until the knockings of added time, when Emerson, just on as a substitute, rifled the ball home.
Atletico’s effort over two legs was fairly pitiful and perhaps indicative of the trouble in which Spanish football currently finds itself. Any lingering hopes they had of rescuing this tie evaporated with the harsh but fair dismissal of Stefan Svaic, but in truth they looked a busted flush long before the Montenegrin saw red. Chelsea were vastly superior in almost every department and thoroughly deserve their place in Friday’s quarter-finals draw.
Full-time: Chelsea 2-0 Atletico Madrid (Agg: 3-0)
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeep! Chelsea join Liverpool and Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the CHampions League after an aggressive, thoroughly professional performance against a hugely disappointing Atletico Madrid side.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Atletico Madrid (Agg: 3-0) (Emerson 90+4)
Emerson scores with his first touch! Kante wins the ball and sends Pulisic clear. He plays the ball wide and left, whereupon Emerson smashes a low drive home. In the stands, Thiago Silva celebrates like Chelsea have just won the Champions League.
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90+4 min: Chelsea double-substitution: Kai Havertz and Marcos Alonso off, Ben Chilwell and Emerson on.
90+3 min: Edouard Mendy is called into action again, doing well to keep out a Joao Felix shot on the turn.
89 min: Llorente sprints and tries to pull the ball across the face of goal from the byline but Mendy blocks it.
88 min: Kante charges through the centre before playing the ball left to Callum Hudson-Odoi. He jinks and tries to buy a yard for a shot, but his effort is blocked.
87 min: Reece James gets on the ball on the right flank, receiving a pass from Pulisic. Unable to get a cross in, he turns and plays it backwards. That’ll do, as Chelsea run down the clock.
86 min: Chelsea substitution a couple of minutes ago: Callum Hudson-Odoi is on for Timo Werner.
84 min: Very unhappy at being dismissed, Stefan Savic makes the long walk off the pitch, under the stand and through the car-park to the temporary away dressing-rooms in the Stamford Bridge health club. It’s a long way - he might have calmed down by the time he gets there.
RED CARD! STEFAN SAVIC IS SENT OFF
81 min: The Atletico defender is shown a straight red for an elbow into the chest of Antonio Rudiger. That’s technically correct but harsh, in my humble opinion. Rudiger went down like he’d been poleaxed by a police truncheon.
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79 min: Free-kick for Atletico, about 40 yards from the Chelsea goal. Lemar floats the ball towards the edge of the penalty area, where Timo Werner heads clear. Atletico retain possession, the ball’s played to Joao Felix with his back to goal. He turns and his shoots and his effort takes a vicious deflection off Azpilicueta, before screwing narrowly wide of the far post.
77 min: Chelsea substitution: Hakim Ziyech off after one of his better appearances in a Chelsea shirt, Christian Pulisic on.
76 min: Joao Felix has a shot-come-cross from a tight angle blocked by Edouard Mendy and N’Golo Kante - who else - is on hand to clear up.
75 min: They could, however, do with another goal to put this tie to bed. They won’t get one, however, if Hakim Ziyech keeps over-hitting crosses and sending them sailing high and wide of the Atletico goal.
74 min: A mix-up between Hermoso and Oblak results in a panicked clearance from Jose Maria Gimenez. If anything, Diego Simeone’s substitutions and tactical tweaks have made his team worse, not better. Chelsea are in complete control of this game.
72 min: Koke gets booked for a foul on Mateo Kovacic.
71 min: The camera cuts to Thiago Silva in the stands, where he is dressed in his civvies roaring at his team-mates, giving instructions and gesticulating furiously in the managerial style.
69 min: Atletico substitution: Kieran Trippier off, Thomas Lemar on. Marcos Llorente moves back into defence.
68 min: “Is there three of Kante on the pitch tonight?” asks Glenn Hoddle, who is on joint co-comms duty for BT Sport. There isn’t, but it looks like there might be - he’s everywhere.
66 min: There’s a break in play as Kurt Zouma receives treatment for an injury. He hobbles to the sideline before returning to action.
64 min: Atletico look a beaten docket and have offered surprisingly little tonight, but if they can muster a goal from somewhere it would be “game on” in a big way.
63 min: A Kieran Trippier corner is headed clear at the near post.
62 min: Timo Werner clips the crossbar with a rising sahot from a tight angle after attempting to turn Gimenez inside-out. He should have crossed to Ziyech, who was in acres of space.
60 min: Jose Maria Gimenez gets booked for a rather over-exuberant attempt to win the ball back after he’d lost it with a heavy touch.
59 min: Atletico substitution: Angel Correa on for Luis Suarez, who has had one of his quieter nights. He’s hardly had a kick, unless you count several he got from Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger.
58 min: Nothing comes from the corner, but despite being in need of two goals Atletico are struggling to get a foot on the ball.
57 min: Jan Oblak tips a curled effort from Hakim Ziyech over the cross-bar. Reece James, again, was the provider. He, Ziyech and N’Golo Kante have been outstanding for Chelsea tonight.
54 min: Atletico Madrid substitution: Moussa Demeble, a Janiuary signing from Lyon, on for the utterly ineffective Yannick Carrasco.
53 min: Hakim Ziyech has a shot from outside the are blocked by Saul Niguez. The ball breaks to Rudiger, who sets himself before fizzing a shot narrowly wide of the left upright.
50 min: Atletico try to build from the back, their sense of urgency increasing with every passing minute. Saul Niguez gets booked for a foul on Kai Havertz after Joao Felix had given the ball away.
49 min: Jan Oblak gets down quickly at his near post to stop a shot from a narrow angle by Timo Werner. It’s a corner for Chelsea, which Koke clears.
47 min: Reece James gets his first cross of the second half into the penalty area, where Kieran Trippier boots clear. Luis Suarez tries to control it, only to get knee in the back – well, backside – from Kurt Zouma, who claims he got the ball.
Second half: Chelsea 1-0 Atletico Madrid (Agg: 2-0)
46 min: Play resumes and Atletico have made a change. Mario Hermoso comes on for the already-booked left-back Renan Lodi and the Spanish side switch to a back three. Yaniick Carrasco now has the task of marking Reece James, who made mince-meat of Lodi in the first half.
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An email: “That non-penalty award on Azpilicueta could be even more significant because not only would Atletico have the chance to score from the spot, Azpilicueta would have been sent off,” writes Ben Chapman. “He would have denied an obvious goal scoring opportunity without playing the ball, which is a red card both inside and outside the box.”
Elswhere in the Champions League: Bayern Munich look home and hosed in their match against Lazio. They lead 1-0 on the night through a Robert Lewandowski goal that has extended their aggregate lead to 5-1. Hard to see them losing that one!
Half-time: Chelsea 1-0 Atletico Madrid (Agg: 2-0)
Peep! There’s no added time and Chelsea go in for their half-time brew a goal up on the night and two up on aggregate. Hakim Ziyech scored the goal, combining with two fellow summer signings to score on the break. Atletico will feel hard done by and have every right to - they were denied what looked a clear penalty for a blatant Cesar Azpilicueta arm-grab on Yannick Carrasco.
44 min: Chelsea are filling their boots down the right flank, where Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta easily have the better of Renan Lodi, who is getting little or no support from Yannick Carrasco and is also walking ye olde disciplinary tightrope after picking up a yellow card.
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43 min: Chelsea win a corner on the back of an untidy scramble at the near post after Kai Havertz had got a cross in. Oblak punches the ensuing inswinger clear.
41 min: In what is good news for everyone involved, it’s probably worth noting that Chelsea goal means that whatever happens tonight, this tie will not be settled in extra time or with a penalty shoot-out.
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38 min: Marcos Llorente sends a wonderul low cross flashing through the corridor of uncertainty in front of the Chelsea goal, but neither Luis Suarez nor Joao Felix are on hand to convert it. Reece James collects and clears at the far post.
36 min: A Kieran Trippier ball into the Chelsea box was cleared by N’Golo Kante, who played it downfield to Kai Havertz. Moving at lightning speed, he played Timo Werner in behind down the inside right and the German squared the ball for Hakim Ziyech at the far post. Having given Stefan Savic the slip, he fires the ball low and hard past Jan Oblak. The goalkeeper got something on it but couldn’t keep it out.
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GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Atletico Madrid (0-2) (Ziyech 34)
Chelsea take the lead! Chelsea double their overall lead with a goal on the break.
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31 min: Renan Lodi is booked for a foul on Reece James over by the touchline, diving in late by the halfway line. He’ll be banned for Atletico’s next game, should they make it through to the quarter-finals.
30 min: Kai Havertz is booked for catching Stefan Savic with a flailing elbow as the pair of them contested a high ball.
29 min: It beggars belief that the Video Assistant Referee didn’t draw the referees attention to the Azpilicueta foul on Carrasco. We can only presume he didn’t deem it a “clear and obvious error”. It certainly looked like one to me.
26 min: There’s another penalty appeal as Yannick Carasco goes down in the Chelsea penalty area, after having his arm pulled by Cesar Azpilicueta. Neither the referee nor his VAR spot anything amiss and Chelsea have dodged a bullet there. That was unquestionably a foul that began outside the area but continued inside it.
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23 min: Shortly before that throw-in, Luis Suarez appealed for a penalty after going to ground under a challenge from Kurt Zouma right on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area. You know what? A replay suggests the Uruguayan might have had a case – Zouma gave him a fairly vigorous shove as the pair of them contested a fifty-fifty ball. I’ve seen them given for a lot less.
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22 min: Atletico win a throw-in down by Diego Simeone’s technical area. While the ball is being retrieved, the Argentinian gesticulates furiously ... appealing for calm among his players.
21 min: Atletico give the ball away about 30 yards from their own goal and Reece James tries his luck. It’s not good: high and wide.
19 min: James takes on Lodi down the right wing, beats him and sends in a cross. Ziyech takes a wild swing and misses, but the ball breaks to Werner. His effort from 14 yards goes out for what should be a corner off Stefan Savic. The referee, if I’m not very much mistaken, awards a goal kick.
18 min: Kai Haveretz and N’golo Kante combine down the right flank, the former picking out the latter with a neat flick. Kante is unable to keep the ball in play after running into traffic.
16 min: Attempting to prevent Chelsea taking a quick throw-in, Marcos Llorente succeeds only in giving away a corner. Hakim Ziyech sends an outswinger into the penalty area and it’s headed clear.
14 min: Goal kick for Atletico. Jan Oblak positions a centre-half on sentry duty on each front corner of his six-yard box, the ball dead halfway between them and then wellies it down the pitch. Interesting.
12 min: Reece James drills a cross into the Atletico penalty area from the right side of the penalty area but it’s blocked by Gimenez. Marcos Llorente helps the ball on its way.
10 min: Marcos Alonso runs on to a through ball down the inside left and shoots for the near post. Wide. Timo Werner had made a good run to the far post but Alonso either didn’t see him or elected not to pass to him. It didn’t matter either way as the Spanish wing-back was offside.
10 min: Ten minutes gone and it’s nip and tuck so far. No chances of note for either side, but it’s an entertaining game so far.
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8 min: N’golo Kante intercepts a pass about 10 yards in front of the Atletico penalty area with lots of space in front of him to exploit, but a poor first touch lets him down and he succeeds only in returning possession tothe visitors.
7 min: This Atletico Madrid approach could scarcely be more different from the first leg, when they meekly sat back and invited Chelsea on to them. This evening, they’re pressing higher up the pitch, making life difficult for Chelsea’s defenders as they attempt to settle on the ball.
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6 min: Chelsea corner. Reece James pings the ball into the penalty area from the right but it’s headed clear.
5 min: At the other end of the pitch, a Reece James cross is headed away by Jose Maria Gimenez.
3 min: Playing in red and white striped shirts, red shorts and red socks, Atletico are playing a lot more positively than they did in the first leg. They\’re doinating possesion in these very early stages. Renani Lodi sends a cross in from the left flank, but the ball ends up in the arms of a grateful Eduoard Mendy.
2 min: Despite the best attempts of Timo Werner, the ball runs out of play down by the Atletico Madrid byline. It’s a goal-kick for the Spanish side. Jan Oblak kicks it long.
Chelsea v Atletico Madrid (1-0) is go ...
1 min: Atletico Madrid get the ball rolling almost three minutes’ late and immediately ping the ball down the right flank. Chelsea win a throw-in, which Marcos Alonso takes. Kovacic wins the header. Chelsea have lined up in a 3-4-3, as opposed to the back four the employed against Leeds United at the weekend.
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Not long now: The teams leave it late to walk out on the pitch, Atletico making their way under the stand from their makeshift dressing-room in the car-park, Chelsea marching out the tunnel. Kick-off is a rendition of the Champions League anthem, some fist-bumps, a coin-toss and a blast of referee Daniele Orsato’s whistle away. away.
Five changes for Atletico: Diego Simeone also rings the changes from the side that lost against Chelsea in Bucharest on 23 Feb. Kieran Trippier, Jose Maria Gimenez, Renan Lodi and Yannick Carasco all come into the side.
Five changes for Chelsea: Thomas Tuchel makes five changes to the team that drew with Leeds at the weekend, three of them enforced. Jorginho and Mason Mount are both suspended, while Andreas Christensen is out with an unspecified illness that we understand is not covid-related. Ben Chilwell and Christian Pulisic also miss out. Reece James, Kurt Zouma, Marcos Alonso, Mateo Kovacic and Timo Werner all come into the side.
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Chelsea v Atletico Madrid line-ups
Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Rudiger, James, Kovacic, Kante, Alonso, Ziyech, Havertz, Werner.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Pulisic, Caballero, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Chilwell, Gilmour, Emerson Palmieri, Anjorin.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Trippier, Savic, Gimenez, Renan Lodi, Llorente, Koke, Saul, Carrasco, Joao Felix, Suarez.
Subs: Grbic, Kondogbia, Torreira, Correa, Lemar, Herrera, Felipe, Dembele, Vitolo, Hermoso, Vrsaljko, San Roman.
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Tonight’s match officials
The job of keeping order during tonight’s match is an Italian one, with Daniele Orsato, from the town of Montecchio Maggiore in Vicenza leading a team of his compatriots. Orsato reffed last season’s Champions League final.
- Referee: Daniele Orsato
- Assistant referees: Alessandro Giallatini and Fabiano Preti
- Fourth official: Daniele Doveri
- VAR: Massimiliano Irrati
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Diego Simeone speaks ...
“We have just one aim: to win,” said Atletico’s manager. “We have to take the match where we want so we can win. You can start winning in the 84th minute or the tenth minute because they are all possible results. The aim is to take the match to them. We don’t know how they will think about the match, but I know what we want from the match, and that’s to win it.”
On his side’s opponents: “I believe that today Chelsea don’t have a weakness,” he said. “They have not had a negative result yet [under new coach Thomas Tuchel] and that will be a question until it happens. We are facing a team that has done quite well since their coach has come, they have never lost. They feel strong at home and are playing quite well.”
Thomas Tuchel speaks ...
“I believe that every club has its DNA and characteristics,” he said, when asked about Atletico in his pre-match press conference. “It’s Diego Simeone, and Atlético have become one of the toughest teams to beat in Europe. So this is their characteristic, they rely on a disciplined, hard-working, super-organised defence. At the same time they have incredible quality to attack and to also to play a possession game.”
Asked how he expected Atletico to play tonight, he said he expected them to be a little more attacking. “They have [Kieran] Trippier, [José María] Giménez and [Yannick] Carrasco back, that changes the structure a little and the style of attacking,” he said. “It gives them the freedom to attack with Carrasco and Trippier on the sides. [Marcos] Llorente is available on the half positions, so that changes their approach a little.”
Early Atletico Madid team news
After missing out on the first leg, Kieran Trippier is once again available for Atletico Madrid having served his ban for betting-related tomfoolery and has shaken off any ring-rustiness by playing three full La Liga matches in the past 10 days. Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco and Uruguayan centre-half Jose Gimenez are also back after missing the first leg.
Early Chelsea team news
Chelsea are without Tammy Abraham and Thiago Silva tonight, the striker sidelined with an ankle injury while his Brazilian team-mate is out with a thigh injury. Midfielders Mason Mount and Jorginho are also absent, consigned to the Uefa Naughty Step through suspension.
Chelsea have scored just 13 goals in their 12-match unbeaten run under Tuchel, so it will be interesting to see who plays in his front three. Giroud to start? It’s not the certainty you might think if predicted line-ups in and on assorted papers and websites are anything to go by.
Champions League R16: Chelsea v Atletico Madrid (Agg: 1-0)
Still unbeaten in 12 games across various competitions since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard, Chelsea host Atletico Madrid and are one spectacular Olivier Giroud bicycle-kick to the good as they head into this second leg.
Diego Simeone’s La Liga leaders reverted back to their overly cautious tactics of old as the “home” side in a first leg played in Bucharest, appearing more interested in keeping a clean sheet than taking the game to Chelsea.
It will be interesting to see how pragmatic their approach tonight might be – if they are to advance to the quarter-finals they will need to score at least one goal. Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is at 8pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
