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Olivier Giroud scored with a spectacular header in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the first leg
Chelsea will be without Jorginho and Mason Mount in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Atlético de Madrid at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues won the first leg 1-0, thanks to a shot from Olivier Giroud.
Midfielders Jorginho and Mount have scored six of Chelsea’s 13 goals in Thomas Tuchel’s 12 games in charge, but both are suspended for Wednesday.
“They are two key players for us, especially Mason because of his offensive ability,” said the German.
“They have been important players so far, but we have a group, so the challenge is to adapt and find solutions.”
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Defender Thiago Silva and forward Tammy Abraham remain out with injuries but are expected to rejoin the squad after the international break.
Chelsea won the Champions League in 2011-12, but has not made it past the knockout stage since 2013-14.
Atlético, who eliminated Liverpool at this stage of the competition last season, are leading La Liga and Tuchel expects another difficult match, after the first leg was played in Romania due to coronavirus restrictions.
“Atlético are one of the teams with the fewest opportunities in all of Europe, so it is very important to be patient and maintain this level,” said Tuchel, who has yet to lose a game since replacing the fired Frank Lampard.
“We have great respect for them because we played against the leaders in Spain and we did an outstanding job in Bucharest.
“We need to be focused, play a high intensity game and play with hunger, aggression and a high level.”
Atlético will be able to count on England full-back Kieran Trippier, Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco and Uruguayan defender José Giménez after the trio missed the first leg.
“Chelsea do not have a weakness. The only thing is that they do not know what can happen from a negative point of view, they have not had a negative result yet,” said coach Diego Simeone.
“We don’t know how they will approach it, but I know what we want, which is to win.”
Will Giroud beat Ibrahimovic’s record? – The statistics
- Atlético de Madrid have lost three Champions League games to Chelsea, their most combined against a rival alongside Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Chelsea have never been eliminated in a two-game European tie after winning the first leg away from home (progressed from Atlético de Madrid has a 50% progression rate in the European Cup / Champions League after losing the knockout first leg, advancing from four of the previous eight knockouts. Thomas Tuchel has lost only three of the 16 home games he has overseen. as a coach in the Champions League (won 11, drew two) Atlético de Madrid has won just two of his last 10 Champions League knockout matches away from home (tied two, lost six) Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud is averaging a goal every 38 minutes in the Champions League this season, the best ratio in a season by any player to play at least 200 minutes. He is the best in a European Cup season since Ton Blanker in 1979-80, who scored a goal every 34 minutes for Ajax. If Giroud scores in the match back, he will be the oldest player to score in both games of a Champions League. Elimination tie (34 years, 168 days). The current oldest is Zlatan Ibrahimovic v Chelsea in 2015-16 for Paris St-Germain in the last 16 (34 years, 158 days) .Atletico Madrid forward Luis Suárez has failed to score in his five Liga appearances. Champions with the club this season and have not scored in any of their last 24 away appearances in the competition, since September 2015 with Barcelona in Roma.
Will Chelsea advance?
Simon Gleave, Head of Sports Analysis, Nielsen’s Gracenote, said: “Chelsea have a 63% chance of finishing the job and reaching the round of 16, according to the Euro Club Index.external-link
Chelsea’s chances of winning the Champions League are now higher than ever. The Euro Club Index gives Chelsea a 4% chance of lifting the Champions League trophy later this year. Chelsea’s chance was also 4% after they sealed qualification before the final group stage match. “
Source: bbc.com
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