TUCHEL CREW GET JOB DONE
Passive Porto leave it too late to worry cool, calm Chelsea
IT SEEMS ludicrous to think it now but Thomas Tuchel had reservations about taking the Chelsea job. He was not convinced about the 18-month contract he had been offered. Understandable. It hardly screamed, ‘You’re our man’.
Four months later and Tuchel — as much as you can at this tempestuous club — should be able to name his price when the time comes around to discuss an extension.
Chelsea and their brilliant German coach are three steps from history as they booked their place in the Champions League semifinal despite this 1-0 loss to Porto.
In Seville, the final 30 seconds aside, Chelsea got the job done without breaking into a sweat.
With Manchester City in an FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, the comfort of this clash provided Tuchel with even more reason to celebrate. That can wait.
Because this morning, the Chelsea players should allow themselves a smile and moment to reflect on how they’ve managed to turn their season around.
The campaign had fallen flat by January; Frank Lampard paid the ultimate price with his job.
But credit to the players for resurrecting the season. Tuchel will claim the lion’s share of recognition — and rightly so, his impact since arriving has been nothing short of miraculous. The German, though, knows where the real acclaim lies.
Their first Champions League semi-final in seven years will trigger hope of a glorious end to the term in Istanbul.
They’ll have to navigate past either Real Madrid or Liverpool to reach the final. But having lost just two of his 18 games in charge, Tuchel is on a roll. You wouldn’t bet against them.
Last night in Spain, Chelsea cruised home. Porto were bright from the outset; asking questions of what has been a stingy Blues defence since Tuchel’s arrival.
The Portuguese suffocated Chelsea, not allowing their players a millisecond to settle.
It all got too much for Edouard Mendy in the 11th minute, the Chelsea keeper indebted to Jorginho for clearing up his mess after a poor pass found Otavio.
But for all their endeavour, Porto, much like the first leg, offered very little cutting edge.
Indeed, it was Chelsea who went closest to drawing blood during the first half, Mason Mount’s effort from the edge of the box dipping just over the bar following a wicked deflection off Chancel Mbemba in the ninth minute.
Chelsea were comfortable with allowing Porto do all the running.
Mendy — barring his mistake — had little to be concerned about, while Chelsea’s experienced back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger had everything under control.
Kai Havertz was set free down the right in the 27th minute only for Pepe to stop the danger as Chelsea started to flex their muscles.
Tuchel was surely encouraged at how the opening 45 minutes had developed. He warned his players about the perils of their 2-0 firstleg advantage on Monday; they’d heeded his every word.
They weren’t expansive in an attacking sense, but they didn’t need to be — it was Porto who needed to light the touch paper.
You couldn’t fault Sergio Conceicao’s side for their work rate. Their lack of imagination up front, however, was playing into Chelsea’s hands — the fact neither side had a shot on target during the first half indicative of the Premier League side’s comfort.
If Tuchel’s team had one foot in the semi-finals after the first leg, they had their second big toe in there by half-time.
Conceicao would have been rallying his team for one last push; his team were heading out of the Champions League with a whimper at this point.
The message from Tuchel would have been: more of the same. As you’d expect, Porto emerged for the second period with the bit between their teeth.
Much like the first half, Chelsea’s defence had all the answers. Was the Blues’ rearguard that impenetrable or was Porto’s attack that uninspired?
In reality, it was a bit of both. Not that Tuchel gave two hoots, his team were striding towards the final four with every passing minute.
Christian Pulisic squandered an opportunity to settle any lingering nerves in the 55th minute but couldn’t get enough purchase on Ben Chilwell’s cutback.
Moments later Wilson Manafa produced a brave block to deny Mount’s angled shot that would have caused Porto keeper Agustin Marchesin a problem before Pulisic was denied again.
Chelsea sensed blood and were intent on going for the kill but Porto’s spirit didn’t fade. They deserve credit for that.
Creating chances, however, was clearly a problem for the Portuguese.
Indeed, you could hardly call the one goal they did score over the course of 180 minutes a chance — Mehdi Taremi producing the goal of his career in the final minute of stoppage time with a brilliant overhead kick to provide Chelsea with a heart-stopping final few seconds.
But Chelsea, deservedly, held on and are back among European football’s elite. CHELSEA (3-4-3): Mendy 6; Azpilicueta 7.5, Silva 7.5, RUDIGER 8; James 7.5, Jorginho 7, Kante 7.5, Chilwell 7; Mount 6.5 (Ziyech 86min), Havertz 6.5 (Giroud 90), Pulisic 7. Subs not used: Arrizabalaga, Caballero, Christensen, Zouma, Alonso, Palmieri, Werner, Hudson-Odoi, Abraham. Booked: None. Manager: Thomas Tuchel 8. PORTO (4-3-3): Marchesin 6; Manafa 6 (Nanu 75), Mbemba 6, Pepe 7, Sanusi 6.5; Grujic 6 (Taremi 63, 7), Uribe 6.5, Oliveira 6.5 (Vieira 84); Corona 6 (Diaz 75), Marega 6 (Evanilson 75), Otavio 6.5. Subs not used: Ramos, Leite, Sarr, Loum, Baro, Martinez, Conceicao. Scorer: Taremi 90+4. Booked: Oliveira, Corona, Pepe, Diaz, Taremi. Manager: Sergio Conceicao 6. Referee: Clement Turpin (Fra) 6.5.