CHELSEA are in full control of their Champions League quarter-final after a comfortable victory in Seville.
Final score: Porto 0-2 Chelsea
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THAT’S ALL FROM SEVILLE!
Chelsea made a giant step towards the Champions League semi-finals after beating Porto 2-0 at the neutral ground of Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
The Blues opened the scoring on 32 minutes when Jorginho found Mason Mount at the edge of the box with a fine pass.
Mount pirouetted around Chancel Mbemba, who went early for the ball, and beat Agustin Marchesin with a fine finish to open the scoring.
Porto played well throughout the game with some fine passing and strong pressure but couldn’t create any major chances.
The west Londoners sealed the win, and perhaps the tie, after 85 minutes when Jesus Corona carelessly gave the ball away at the back with a poor touch.
Ben Chilwell picked it up and dribbled past Marchesin nicely before registering Chelsea’s second away goal of the night.
Thank you for following the action with us and have a lovely night!
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CLEANING HOUSE
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has been in incredible form this season.
But Mendy dramatically improved even more when Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard at the helm in January.
The Senegal international has kept 10 clean sheets ever since, which is more than any other keeper playing in the five biggest leagues in Europe.
More below:
10 – Since Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge of Chelsea (27th Jan 2021), no goalkeeper playing for a top five European league side has kept more clean sheets in all competitions than Edouard Mendy (10). Calming. pic.twitter.com/O4QOqH52V5— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 7, 2021
TUCHEL REACTS
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel echoed Mason Mount’s statement by insisting the tie is not over yet but described the result as “excellent” even though they “suffered” at times.
Tuchel told BT Sport: “The result is excellent. It was a tough match against a strong Porto side. They are a proud club and a proud team, so there were moments when we suffered. But we accepted it and I could see the circumstances are a bit different in a quarter-final.
“In some moments it was a good game, in some moments we suffered. But the spirit was good.
“I was pretty sure [there would be a reaction to the West Brom defeat] because I saw the response after the game in the dressing room. That wasn’t a big concern. We had a big loss but it was our responsibility but we accepted it. We were ready to respond. There will always be setbacks in football, the challenge is to bounce back.
“I am very, very happy he [Mason Mount] scored. It was an important goal and opened up the game for us and calmed nerves. It wasn’t an easy shot but very precise. I am very happy for Mason, he takes responsibility. Mason is precise with his finishing and always ready to help us.
“Was [Ben Chilwell] excellent because he kept his composure to go past the goalkeeper. It was super important to get the second away goal. Like I said, we lacked a bit of rhythm in our attack but there was always a chance to get a goal from a mistake from our opponent. He isn’t a regular scorer but I am very happy we go away with the result. It’s half time, though. We need to keep going”
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TWO LIONS
What a night this was for Chelsea as well as Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell…
Both of them got on the scoresheet and, funnily enough, marked the first time in almost 10 years that two English players hit the target for the Blues on the same night in the Champions League.
Last time that happened was in 2012 when the west Londoners beat Napoli 4-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Round of 16.
Frank Lampard and John Terry did the honours in a night that also saw Didier Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic hitting the target
2 – For the first time since March 2012 against Napoli (John Terry & Frank Lampard), Chelsea have had two different English players score for them in the same UEFA Champions League match (Mason Mount & Ben Chilwell). Lions. pic.twitter.com/0VtT3in7ar— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 7, 2021
MOUNT REACTS
Chelsea ace Mason Mount insists the tie is not over yet but is pleased with the result.
Mount told BT Sport: “We knew it was going to be a tough game. We knew how hard to play against them, we didn’t have many chances, but we kept going.
“We obviously got the goal first-half, and the second late on secured a good win, but that’s only half the tie. It’s about time it came [a Champions League goal], it’s a good time for it to come. It was a good pass by ‘Jorgy’ [Jorginho] and I just had a bit of space, so I just hit it after my first touch, and yeah, it went in, so obviously I was very happy with that. it took us in at half-time 1-0 up and in a good position.
“I’m always working on my finishing. I don’t think you can work on it enough, so yeah very happy to score one tonight but most importantly get the win. Chilwell showed great composure, to be fair. Very good finish from him, he’ll be buzzing with that.
“We definitely needed a reaction tonight [after the West Brom defeat]. After the game, we put it behind us, and we said, we need to improve. We’re getting better and better. That game was something we looked at briefly the next day, and we moved on.
“The job’s not done. We’ll be ready [for the second leg]”
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WHAT’S NEXT?
Chelsea scored two away goals against Porto in the neutral ground of the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville.
That means the Dragons need to net at least two goals next week to take the game to extra-time.
If Sergio Conceicao’s men score three then they go through to the Champions League semi-finals.
If Chelsea hit the target once on Tuesday then three goals will still get Porto through automatically.
But the reigning Portuguese champions shouldn’t mind another extra-time drama as that is how they eliminated Juventus in the Round of 16
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GREAT TUCH
Chelsea carry a major advantage heading to next week’s second leg in Seville against Porto.
The Blues manager Thomas Tuchel has become only the second manager to win his first three Champions League knockout matches.
The first one was Roberto Di Matteo in the 2011-2012 season that saw the west Londoners going all the way and winning the trophy.
But still, Tuchel has a lot of work to do as Porto are a fine team that eliminated Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Last 16
Advantage Chelsea! 💪Thomas Tuchel is only the second Chelsea manager to win his first three #UCL knockout games 💯The previous manager to do this was Roberto Di Matteo in 2011-12, the last time Chelsea won the competition 👀 pic.twitter.com/7roLzxT65K— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 7, 2021
STATS
Chelsea controlled 60 per cent of possession throughout the match at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
Porto were lively throughout the game and produced 12 shots, five of which were on target, but failed to create any major chances.
The Blues, on the other hand, registered a mere six shots, half of which were on target.
The west Londoners were more composed as they avoided any disciplinary action compared to the “hosts” who received two yellow cards, plus one for manager Sergio Conceicao
FT: PORTO 0-2 CHELSEA
Chelsea have made a major leap towards the Champions League semi-finals by picking up two away goals against Porto in Seville.
The Blues opened the scoring after 32 minutes when Jorginho found Mason Mount on the edge of the box and the youngster pirouetted around Chancel Mbemba, who went in early for the ball, before beating Agustin Marchesin with a fine finish.
The Dragons put together a solid performance but failed to produce any major chances with the west Londoners missing the chance to double the score early on in the second half when Kai Havertz failed in front of open goal.
But Chelsea sealed the win, and perhaps the tie, on 85 minutes when Jesus Corona gave the ball away at the back with a poor touch that led to Ben Chilwell picking it up and dribbling past Marchesin to double the “visitors'” lead
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PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
AND THAT’S FULL-TIME IN SEVILLE!!!!
PORTO 0-2 CHELSEA
90+3 Rudiger is hobbling around the pitch in the final few seconds of the match.
Will be interesting to hear from Tuchel at full-time about that…
PORTO 0-2 CHELSEA
90+2 And this is how Chilwell may have sent Chelsea through to the Champions League semi-finals.
A lovely bit of movement from the full-back but also a careless moment by Corona
Ben Chilwell punishes the Porto defence! Great composure from the Chelsea left-back as he breaks through and rounds the keeper before slotting home 🙌A MASSIVE goal! pic.twitter.com/jjnHHwuPbl— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 7, 2021
PORTO 0-2 CHELSEA
90+1 SUBSTITUTION
Tuchel wants to run the clock down as he replaces Kovacic with Emerson
PORTO 0-2 CHELSEA
90 Three more minutes of added time to go.
Chelsea really need to make sure they don’t concede a late goal, even though they still have the advantage of two away goals
PORTO 0-2 CHELSEA
88 The match is not taking place at Porto but those are still two away goals.
Chelsea have done a brilliant job int heir bid to make it to the Champions League semi-finals
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PORTO 0-2 CHELSEA
85 Corona commits a horrendous error as he gives the ball away.
Chilwell picks it up and runs towards goal where he expertly dribbles past Marchesin and sends the ball to the back of the net!
GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!
CHELSEA DOUBLE THEIR LEAD WITH CHILWELL!!!!!!!
PORTO 0-1 CHELSEA
84 WHAT A CHANCE!
Giroud drives the ball down Porto’s half with a brilliant run and finds Pulisic down the right side.
The American fires a shot from a tight angle and rattles the crossbar!
PORTO 0-1 CHELSEA
83 SUBSTITUTION
Finally some changes from Porto manager Conceicao, but is it too late…?
Martinez, Vieira and the Dragons boss’ son Conceicao replace Marega, Diaz and Otavio
PORTO 0-1 CHELSEA
82 Here’s something you don’t see or hear about every day, or week:
Kante just passed the ball straight out of play without looking…
PORTO 0-1 CHELSEA
80 SUBSTITUTION
Chelsea boss Tuchel makes two more changes as Kante and Silva come on for Mount and James respectively
PORTO 0-1 CHELSEA
79 YELLOW CARD
Grujic gets booked for what looks like more of a rugby shoulder block on Pulisic who was getting on the counter-attack
PORTO 0-1 CHELSEA
77 Porto continue to pile on pressure but time is running out.
Expect Conceicao to shake things up real soon with a series of substitutions
PORTO 0-1 CHELSEA
74 YELLOW CARD
The referee brings out a yellow card for… Porto manager Conceicao!
The Dragons boss tries to get the ball with a fantastic touch down the touchline thinking it went out for a free-throw.
The ball has indeed bounced out but Conceicao did that in front of a Chelsea player
That was a lovely touch, though…
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