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Thomas Tuchel praised his Chelsea when they did “what was necessary” to remove Atlético de Madrid from the Champions League.
Against a below par Atlético, Chelsea were completely dominant at Stamford Bridge. Their positive work in the first half was rewarded with a goal in the 34th minute.
It came through a ruthless counterattack when Kai Havertz passed it to Timo Werner. The forward moved down the field before square with Hakim Ziyech, who finished well from inside the area.
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Diego Simeone’s team could barely put a glove on the hosts, who kept rising during the second half.
Former Manchester City defender Stefan Savic was sent off by the visitors. This came as a result of an elbow to Antonio Rudiger in the last ten minutes.
Emerson closed out a great night for the Londoners with his second goal of the night in injury time. The substitute was fed by Christian Pulisic and the defender made no mistake as he threw the ball into the bottom corner past Jan Oblak.
This victory extends Tuchel’s unbeaten streak as Chelsea manager to 13 games. The Blues will now play the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in seven years.
Tuchel told BT Sport after the match, quoted by BBC Sport, that his team showed good “teamwork and courage” against Madrid:
“Very good performance, incredible effort, even from the guys in the stands… I could feel we totally loved him.
“They tried to push us high in the first half, but they opened up some spaces at the back of midfield and we were able to take advantage of it. In the second half there were minutes in which we suffered but we were willing to do what was necessary to win.
“We miss Andrea Christensen today, Thiago for many weeks, great personalities. I tell Kurt Zouma this morning that he plays and steps forward. It’s about teamwork, courage, and dependability to feel safe with each other.
“It’s a shame? (Foul by Azpilicueta) Azpi got a little scared because the ball was short, I didn’t see it but I was a little scared.
“We know that if we can’t find solutions with offensive play, we can trust our physical game. We had absolutely no fear of putting it on a physical level if we don’t get offensive solutions and enjoy the battle. The guys were totally ready and ready, we were so hungry to get through.
“The quarterfinals means there are only four games, it’s a big step and it feels great.”
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