Blues through to Champions League semi-finals in comfortable fashion

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea have moved one step closer to European glory once again as they advanced to the Champions League semi-finals last night.

Despite losing the second leg to Porto 1-0, Chelsea were victorious on aggregate thanks to goals from Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell in last week’s first leg.

They will now play either Liverpool or Real Madrid in the last four of the competition, with the second leg of that tie being played at Anfield this evening.

Chelsea made three changes to the team that beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at the weekend. Mateo Kovačić picked up an injury before last night’s fixture and was replaced by N’Golo Kanté. Reece James returned to the right wing-back position ahead of Callum Hudson-Odoi, and the experienced Thiago Silva came in for Kurt Zouma.

The Blues knew that despite having a 2-0 lead on aggregate, it wouldn’t be an easy task on the night. Porto carried out the same plan as they did in the first leg, driving forward and pressing the Chelsea defence from kick-off.

However, the Blues had the first chance of the game as Mount saw his shot on goal deflected behind for a corner. Just a few minutes later, Edouard Mendy’s lapse of concentration nearly punished his side as a misplaced pass fell into the path of Jesús Manuel Corona, only for Jorginho to make a good tackle to snuff out the danger.

Chelsea continued to look for the one goal that would’ve settled any nerves for the rest of the game, with Kai Havertz’s attempted pass across the box going behind off a Porto defender for a corner kick.

Despite needing to score at least two goals to take it to extra time, Porto never really seemed like threatening the Chelsea goal as much as people expected. This was partly down to Kanté producing yet another top performance in the heart of the midfield, making crucial tackles to prevent any dangerous opportunities from occurring.

The defence also remained resilient throughout the game with a combination of leadership, experience and strength from Cesar Azpilicueta, Silva and Antonio Rudiger helping to guide them across the finish line.

Tuchel’s side started the second half brightly. Christian Pulisic just couldn’t quite get his positioning right and was unable to send a Chilwell cross goal-bound, with Porto surviving yet another scare.

The Portuguese side seemed to spend more time fouling Pulisic (11 fouls in total) rather than creating genuine attempts on goal. Despite being constantly brought down, the American winger battled through and played all 90 minutes of the game.

Porto’s first shot on target came just after the hour mark, only for Mehdi Taremi’s weak header to be collected by Mendy down low to his left. Neither side were able to find a breakthrough until the latter stages of the game.

Substitute Nanu picked up a pass on the right hand side and sent a teasing cross into the box. It was met by Taremi, who proceeded to bicycle kick it into the top-right hand corner of Mendy’s goal. A moment of sheer brilliance from the Iranian, but it ultimately proved to be too little too late for his side.

Calls for a last minute Porto penalty were immediately dismissed by referee Clément Turpin as Evanilson appeared to go to ground far too easily for a spot kick to be awarded.

The full-time whistle eventually blew and even though Chelsea lost on the night, they were victorious overall and have now booked themselves a place in the last four of club football’s biggest prize.

It was by no means an exciting or enjoyable performance, but the Blues got the job done. They had a plan to secure their advancement to the semi-finals and they executed it perfectly. The defence was solid and well-drilled throughout, only to be breached by a sublime finish in the 93rd minute.

Chelsea’s first leg in the semis will take place on either 27/28 April, with the return fixture a week later.

They are in cup action once again this weekend as they face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley. Tuchel will be wanting his side to remain defensively solid against the Premier League champions-elect, who still remain on course to win a quadruple this season. The Blues will be confident to change this though, with a win making them FA Cup finalists for the second season running.

For now, Tuchel’s Blues look confident and composed in their play and have put themselves in a great position to end the season strongly, with the prospect of a trophy becoming more of a reality as the games go by.

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