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Olivier Giroud produced another Champions League special to give Chelsea the lead in their round of 16 tie with Atlético de Madrid after a 1-0 win in the first leg in Bucharest.
The Blues forward scored his sixth goal in the competition this season with an overhead kick in the 68th minute, but it was only conceded after a lengthy VAR review.
It was well deserved for Thomas Tuchel’s side, who largely dominated and extended their unbeaten streak with the German to eight games since his arrival on January 26.
A negative aspect was the reserves for Mason Mount and Jorginho, which rules them out of the second leg, but Atlético coach Diego Simeone knows that his team will need to score at least twice next month to pass in normal time. .
Callum Hudson-Odoi was a surprise name in the Blues starting lineup for this tie in Romania due to coronavirus travel restrictions imposed by the Spanish government.
The England international had lasted just 31 minutes after his halftime presentation in Southampton on Saturday, but coach Tuchel played with the youngster as a right-back.
Chelsea’s night started on a bad note when, within 60 seconds, Mount was booked for a foul on Joao Felix, meaning he will be suspended for the second leg at Stamford Bridge next month.
Edouard Mendy almost managed to accumulate more misery for the visitors after a strong touch in the area, but Saúl could not take advantage of the goalkeeper’s error.
After initial pressure from Atlético, including a dangerous cross from Luis Suárez in the face of the goal, the Premier League team began to dominate possession and a long-range shot from Marcos Alonso represented their first shot on goal. sides.
It was routine for Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who had gone seven games without a clean sheet and was forced to take more energetic action six minutes before half-time when Timo Werner’s shot from a tight angle was well saved.
Goalless at half-time, Simeone would have been the happier of the two coaches with numerous absences, including England full-back Kieran Trippier due to suspension.
Not long after Suarez saw a deflected effort by Andreas Christensen, Joao Félix fired a kick over the goal after a poor header from César Azpilicueta in a sign that Atleti was going to be more adventurous in this half.
Jorginho became the second Chelsea player to be ruled out of the second leg in the 64th minute when he dropped Joao Félix, but four minutes later the visiting team were able to break the deadlock in style.
Alonso went ahead well and his center was deflected in the way of Giroud, who produced a superb shot from 12 meters that surpassed Oblak and found the bottom corner.
He was immediately ruled offside, and Mount was deemed to have thrown the ball forward for his teammate, but after a lengthy VAR review it was determined that Atlético central Mario Hermoso had given the decisive finishing touch.
Giroud’s 11th goal of the season and his sixth in this competition gave Chelsea a crucial away goal in the tie and Tuchel reacted instantly with the introduction of N’Golo Kante and Hakim Ziyech with 16 minutes to go.
Reece James followed them onto the field shortly after, and Hudson-Odoi took off after 80 minutes this time.
As Atlético pushed for the tie, Simeone made the surprise decision to remove Joao Félix and suffered a second consecutive defeat.
It gives Chelsea the lead before the second leg at Stamford Bridge on March 17, where the Blues will attempt to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in seven years.
Match details
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