Match report: Chelsea 0-1 Porto (Agg: 2-1)
Sid Lowe was in Seville getting eaten by insects, who were in turn getting devoured by screeching swallows. Among all the gluttony, here’s how he saw the action unfold.
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More from Tuchel: “Porto are a team who can make other teams under perform, it happened in the group stage and against Juventus,” he says. “But part of a performance is not to let the others perform and we did this. Until the lucky, lucky shot in the lat minute we did not concede any chances.”
Thomas Tuchel speaks: “We accepted what was needed was a tough, tough fight,” he tells dishy Des Kelly from BT Sport. “On teleivision it was probably not so nice to watch but on the sideline it was a very intense and fast game. It was a tough fight, very hard to play against them and to escape the pressure.
“They are a very aggressive team, Porto and they attack in a very fluent and aggressive way. They change positions all the time, they come from behind, they overlap, they underlap ... you have to adapt to many movements but after a tough start after every minute we did it better and better.
“I think we desrved a clean sheet. We had better chances, not a lot of them but better half-chances. We could not finish it off with a goal or two goals so we had to hang in there and the guys did that. Overall we deserved to beat Porto but it was tough 180 minutes.”
Stay tuned. We’ve still got post-match reaction from Chelsea manager Tommy T and a match report from Sid Lowe to come.
Meanwhile in Paris: Holders Bayern Munich have gone out, eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain on away goals after a 1-0 win for the German side in the second leg.
It was not a good game. But Chelsea will not care. Mehdi Taremi gave them a late scare, leaping high to score with a shinned right-foot bicycle kick into the top corner from 12 yards after connecting with a Nanu cross from the right. It was the one moment of high quality in a fairly dreary contest in which Porto were thoroughly underwhelming. It’s job done for Chelsea, who will face Real Madrid or Liverpool in the last four.
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Full-time: Chelsea 0-1 Porto (Agg: 2-1)
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeep! It’s all over in Seville, where Chelsea have advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a minimum of fuss.
90 +4 min: Scrap that, he shinned it. It’s a 6.2 on the Sinclair Spectrum.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Porto (Agg: 2-1) (Taremi 90+3)
Porto score: Taremi scores with an astonishing overhead kick. It’s an 8.8 on the Sinclair Spectrum but I’d need to see it again.
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90+3 min: Through on goal with only Marchesin to beat, Pulisic takes one touch too many and allows the goalkeeper to save at his feet.
90+2 min: Chelsea substitution: Olivier Giroud on for Kai Havertz.
89 min: Pulisic is getting battered here ... and not in a good way. He’s on the deck after being fouled once again. I didn’t spot the perpetrator on this occasion. We’ll have four minutes worth of extras.
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89 min: And another, as they play down the clock keeping the ball by the corner flag.
88 min: Luis Diaz is booked for a foul on Pulisic. From the free-kick, Chelsea win a corner.
87 min: Pulisic tries to put Ziyech in behind with a ball into space from inside his own half. It’s a tired effort that’s nowhere near the substitute.
85 min: Chelsea substitution: Hakim Ziyech on for Mason Mount.
83 min: Porto substitution: Sergio Oliveira off, Fabio Vieira on.
82 min: This has been very disappointing from Porto, who were a lot better in the first leg. I think Chelsea may have, even on a subconsious level, underestimated them a little in that game, a mistake they weren’t going to make twice.
81 min: Time to start time-wasting, Chelsea. Thiago Silva obliges, going down in his own box under no pressure from anyone. There’s a pause as he receives treatment.
80 min: From that one, Rudiger puts it out for a third in quick succession at the near post. Oliveira sends the ball in but it ends up in the arms of Eduoard Mendy. Chelsea look like they could comfortably defend these set pieces all night.
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79 min: From that corner, Porto win another – Reece James putting the ball out.
77 min: Marchesin is forced to the edge of his box to gather a through ball. Porto really need to get the collective finger out - they’ve been fairly pedestrian and very toothless, considering what’s at stake here. They win a corner.
75 min: Porto triple-substitution: Nanu, Luis Diaz and Evanilson on for Wilson Manata, Jesus Corona and Moussa Marega.
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74 min: Corona is booked for a pull on the shirt of Jorginho.
73 min: There’s a triple-substitution “ahoy” from Porto. Thiago Silva sticks out a leg and puts a Chancel Mbemba cross into the Chelsea penalty area out of play. That looks like it could have gone anywhere.
72 min: Mendy shepherds the ball out of play under pressure from Taremi as the striker chases a long ball from the back in vain.
69 min: Pepe gives the ball away with a loose pass, prompting Kante to ping the ball forward for Pulisic. His first touch lets him down, taking him wide of the Porto goal, where Pepe makes amends for his original error by relieving him of the ball.
67 min: Manafa loses the ball and Chelsea break on the counter. Manafa recovers well enough to foul Pulisic and put a stop to his gallop but avoids a booking.
64 min: Taremi directs a header from about 12 yards towards the bottom corner. Edouard Mendy saves. There wasn’t much pace on the looping cross from Corona, so the substitute was unable to get much venom behind his effort.
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63 min: Porto substitution: Mehdi Taremi on for Marko Grujic - a striker with 15 goals to his name this season on for a midfielder.
62 min: Pepe and Sanusi combine down the left at pace but the full-back’s cross is too close to Edouard Mendy, who grabs it gratefully.
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61 min: Scrappiness abound with little of note to report. It looks like Porto are preparing to make a change.
58 min: Good defending from Wilson Manafa, who gets across to put in a stout block on Mason Mount as the Chelsea midfielder bore down on goal from the inside left and pulled the trigger. On the touchline, Porto manager Sergio Conceciao gets booked, presumably for dissent.
55 min: Now Chelsea put Porto under the cosh for a bit, also without threatening the opposition goal.
54 min: Pulisic fails to react quickly enough to steer a high velocity Ben Chilwell pull-back goalwards. He shins it with his right peg and the ball drifts harmlessly wide.
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53 min: Reece James repels another Porto attrack, putting the ball out of play for a throw-in. Chelsea are under sustained pressure here but Porto still haven’t had a shot on target.
52 min: Porto win two corners in quick succession. Oliveira tries to pick out Pepe at the near post with the second one but Antonio Rudiger clears with a header.
49 min: While you wouldn’t say Porto have been playing with the handbrake on, at some point they’re going to have cut loose and throw caution to the wind. If theydo happen to score twice, which is looking unlikely, they would go into extra time as the “away” team with the added value that brings to any goals they might score in the extra half-hour. Chelsea, by contrast, would not enjoy the advantage of having a “home” crowd cheering them on for those extra 30 minutes. It’s not really fair, is it?
47 min: Neat work in a confined area from Chilwell and Kante over by the touchline by the halfway line keeps the ball in play as Chelsea try to get forward.
Second half: Chelsea 0-0 Porto (Agg: 2-0)
46 min: Play resumes with no changes in personnel on either side. Almost immediately, Sergio Oliveira is booked for a foul on Pulisic. He’s caught bang to rights but shakes his head sadly at referee Clement Turpin’s apparent impetuousness.
Half-time: Chelsea 0-0 Porto (Agg: 2-0)
Peep! It’s all sqaure at the break, a scrappy half drawing to a close. Porto had the pick of what few chances there were, with the topically named Jesus Corona failing to capitalise on an Edouard Mendy error before snatching at a presentable opportunity after good work by Chancel Mbemba, only to send the ball sailing over the bar. Chelsea remain in the box seat.
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45 min: A Sergio Oliveira header towards the edge of the Chelsea box is cleared by Cesar Azpilicueta.
42 min: The game continues to be punctuated by one foul after another. It’s not a great spectacle but no Chelsea fans watching it will mind.
40 min: Elsewhere in the Champions League, Bayern Munich have just gone ahead against Paris Saint-Germain, with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting bundling home a header from about one yard out. It’s 3-3 on aggregate in that one but PSG still have the advantage on away goals.
39 min: More niggle as Pepe fouls Pulisic in the centre-circle.
38 min: Rudiger gives the ball away to Grujic, who advances on the Chelsea penalty area. He runs into traffic and the ball is cleared.
37 min: The deadlock remains unbroken with Chelsea holding a two-goal aggregate lead. Uribe tries to halve the deficit from distance but his low and fairly feeble effort is blocked.
34 min: Chancel Mbemba it was with the pass for Corona and it was a beauty that deserved a more composed and accurate finish.
32 min: Chance! Jesus Corona manages to give Ben Chilwell the slip, spinning the defneder to get on a pass from deep. His first touch is good and he attempts to blast the ball past Edouard Mendy from 10 yards or so but balloons it over the bar. He had more time than he realised to pick his spot and should have scored.
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31 min: Picked out by an excellent pass from Jorginho, Kante over hits his long diagonal towards Ben Chilwell. Goal kick for Porto.
30 min: Pepe is the latest go down in a heap, fouled by Pulisic. This is very, very scrappy, which will suit Chelsea just fine.
27 min: Pepe makes a crucial block, cutting out a Havertz cross from the right with Chelsea attacking on the break and Mount waiting in the centre. The ball finds its way back to Havertz, who attempts to cross again. It’s Pepe to the rescue again, this time conceding a corner. It’s taken and Porto struggle to clear their lines until the ball goes out for a throw-in off Ben Chilwell.
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25 min: Oliveira is penalised for a foul on Pulisic in a game that has plenty of side-niggle going on.
24 min: A quarter of the way through the game and both teams will be fairly satisfied with their evening’s work so far. Porto have had the upper hand without laying much of a glove on Chelsea, who are defending well and looking dangerous on the break.
21 min: Jesus Corona is flat on his back down near the corner flag after running into Jorginho. He’ll live.
19 min: Otavio sends the ball into the Chelsea penalty area, where Grujic gets his head to it. Ben Chilwell clears at the back post and Chelsea attack on the break with Kante on the ball. He holds the ball up well and Reece James ends up being teed up on the edge of the box by Mason Mount. He pulls a poor effort well wide.
18 min: Throw-in for Porto deep in Chelsea territory after Thiago Silva put the ball out. It’s taken and Marega wins a corner off Rudiger.
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16 min: Porto have looked more threatening than Chelsea in these early stages, without creating any particularly good chances. A goal for the Portuguese side would really put the cat among the pigeons. Or indeed, the swallows.
15 min: The camera cuts to Thomas Tuchel on the Chelsea bench, where he looks to be having quite the animated conversation with himself.
13 min: Otavio is fouled by Jorginho, who lunges in to stop him advancing up the field. Nothing comes of the free-kick and moments later, Havertz is penalised for a foul on Pepe, wide on the right, a long way out.
11 min: From 12 yards out and a tight angle, Jesus Corona tries to sidefoot into an empty net after a hideous piece of miscontrol from Edouard Mendy as he fielded a backpass. Jorginho is on hand to get a crucial deflection. The ball goes out for a corner, from which nothing comes.
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10 min: Free-kick for Porto after a Pulisic foul on Sergio Oliveiro in the centre-circle.
9 min: Reece James twists and turns under pressure from Zaidu Sanussi out on the right flank. He eventually gets a cross in, but it’s straight into the hands of Marchesin at the near post.
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7 min: Mason Mount picks up the ball and shuffles and shimmies towards the edge of the Porto penalty area. He unleashes a shot which is deflected off a defender.
6 min: Porto right-back Wilson Manafa slings a cross to the far post, where Otavio and Uribe try to link up. The ball rolls wide.
5 min: Moussa Marega has a scuffed shot from a tight angle blocked after being teed up by Mateus Uribe. Porto have started well.
3 min: Kai Havertz goes to ground holding the back of his head after contesting a high ball with Pepe. It was a 50-50 challenge, although Pepe did sort of lead with his arm.
2 min: N’Golo Kante breaks up a Porto attack on the edge of Chelsea’s penalty area and sends his team on their way. A long diagonal ball is playeed towards Reece James on the right flank but he’s unable to keep it in play.
1 min: Agustin Marchesin gets an early touch in the Porto goal, fielding a backpass comfortably under pressure. The sound of swallows screeching is now the only thing I can hear.
Chelsea v Porto is go!
1 min: Chelsea get the ball rolling, their players wearing blue shirts and shorts with white socks. Porto’s wear white shirts and shorts with blue socks.
Crikey! You can actually hear the shrill tweeting of said swallows on the pitchside microphones. Sounds like quite the invasion.
Not long now: With each skipper brandishing a club pennant, Cesar Azpilicueta and Pepe lead their respective sides out behind referee Clement Turpin and his team of match officials on a warm night in Seville.
According to Sid Lowe, the Guardian’s man in the stadium, there are lots of bugs making fizzing around making him itchy, but there’s a flight of swallows on hand to gobble them up. The last of the pre-match formalities get under way and kick-off is not too far away.
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Thomas Tuchel speaks: He tells BT Sport that Mateo Kovacic picked up a light injury in training yesterday and is out. He also reveals that Andreas Christensen is not fully recovered from the muscle injury he sustained in the first leg. “We have Thiago back but not too many changes because we are on a good run and the squad feels confident that this is the moment to go,” he says.
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BT Sport: Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole are the studio pundits tonight, in the company of Gary Lineker, and it doesn’t seem to have crossed any of their minds that Chelsea might actually go out tonight.
Of course everything is in the London side’s favour ahead of kick-off, but I thought Porto were fairly unlucky to lose 2-0 last week. They’re a good team and I have a feeling they might give Chelsea plenty to think about, particularly if they can score first. Whoever does go through will face Liverpool or Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
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Those teams: No big surprises in the Chelsea side, who will line up in a 3-4-3 with Kai Havertz, presumably, in a kind of floating False Nine role.
Of course it is dangerous to presume anything, as I thought Mehdi Taremi was a certainty to start for Porto, but he is on the bench. On loan from Liverpool, Marko Grujic keeps his place in midfield and local paper the Echo reported today that the 25-year-old Serbian has no shortage of admirers in Serie A and the Bundesliga. Sergio Oliveira, as expect, starts.
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Chelsea v Porto line-ups
Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kante, Chilwell, Mount, Havertz, Pulisic
Subs: Caballero, Kepa, Christensen, Zouma, Alonso, Emerson, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Abraham, Giroud, Werner
Porto: Marchesin, Pepe, Uribe, Marega, Zaidu, Grujic, Corona, Manafa, Mbemba, Otavio, Sergio Oliveira
Subs: Claudio Ramos, Leite, Loum, Diaz, Taremi, Baro, Martinez, Evanilson, Nanu, Sarr, Vieira, Conceicao
Newsflash ...
Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Thiago Silva start for Chelsea. We’ll have the full line-ups for you very shortly.
Thomas Tuchel speaks: “We don’t approach games like this or change the approach,” said the Chelsea manager, upon being asked if his side would be more passive tonight, considering their lead. “For us it is important that we focus on us, play the best game possible as this increases the chances to have a result. In terms of a result, it is easier for Porto because they need to score three goals to get through, for them if it is clear. For us, if we start in this way then we could completely lose our heads. I hope we embrace the challenge and feel it.”
Sergio Conceicao speaks: “We have to be a compact, cohesive team,” said Porto’s manager, when asked how his side would approach the game. “We have to score goals, but also to avoid conceding. We were good in the first leg, but not very good; if we were, we would have won. We will try to improve on what was a good team performance.
“We are confident. We know that we face a difficult task, but we are here to give the answer that we have to give. The feeling you get from representing this historic club is always there on the pitch. In these games, going all out from the off can be harmful.”
Tonight’s match officials
- Referee: Clément Turpin
- Assistant referees: Nicolas Danos and Cyril Gringore
- Fourth official: Frank Schneider
- Video Assistant Referee: François Letexier
Early team news
Chelsea have a full squad to choose from, which is no mean feat at this point in a gruelling season, although Andreas Christensen is a doubt due to a tight hamstring. Out of form and favour, Tammy Abraham was also a doubt but is expected to be fit if required.
As mentioned already, Sergio Oliveira and Mehdi Taremi are both available for selection after sitting out the first leg. Assuming they are picked, Luis Diaz and Marko Grujic are the likely candidates to drop to the bench. Reserve goalkeepers Diogo Costa and Mouhamed Mbaye are also sidelined.
Champions League quarter-final: Chelseav Porto (Agg: 2-0)
Seville’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium is the venue as the players of Chelsea and Porto reconvene for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Chelsea are the “home” team tonight and carry a two-goal advantage into the second leg but Porto can take heart from a decent performance in defeat, despite the absence through suspension of arguably their two best attackers, Sérgio Oliveira and Mehdi Taremi.
Both players are expected to line up tonight and while Chelsea have a crucial advantage they will be well aware theirs is only a job half-done. Kick-off in Seville is at 8pm, but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
