The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Chelsea cruise into quarter-final draw
Hakim Ziyech’s sublime counterattack finish helped steer Chelsea past Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge and into a first Champions League quarter-final in seven years.
Timo Werner and Kai Havertz combined to create Ziyech’s goal of graft and guile as Chelsea sunk 10man Atletico 2-0 in the last16 second leg in west London, and 3-0 on aggregate.
Emerson Palmieri drilled home late on to gloss the score and seal a fine victory, after Diego Simeone’s Atletico had seen Stefan Savic sent off late on for elbowing Toni Rudiger.
Chelsea now join Manchester City and Liverpool in tomorrow’s draw.
Ziyech’s first goal in 20 Chelsea appearances set the Blues on course in an absorbing contest, where N’golo Kante and Rudiger excelled for the hosts.
Boss Thomas Tuchel has required just 51 days at the Stamford Bridge helm to
qualify for the Champions League quarters, a feat that had last been achieved by the Blues in 2014.
Former Paris St Germain manager Tuchel has pulled off quite the extended Chelsea honeymoon period, trading the muddled for the resolute, and overseeing 13 matches without defeat.
The Blues’ last five Champions League campaigns petered out at the last-16 stage, but Tuchel’s blueprint and his man management has
paid immediate dividend.
Kante’s transformation encapsulates Chelsea’s revitalisation under Tuchel. Frank Lampard had been determined to deploy Kante in an inside-right role, unfamiliar to France’s World Cup-winning defensive midfield linchpin.
That alteration failed to suit either Lampard’s tactical approach, or Kante’s strengths.
No sooner had Tuchel arrived, however, than Kante was restored to his game-breaking role at the base of midfield that so underscored Premier League title triumphs for both Leicester and Chelsea.
And here, when Chelsea needed his magnetic midfield qualities most, Kante delivered a vintage display.
Chelsea’s 11th clean sheet in those 13 games under Tuchel provided the foundation for another landmark result, with the Blues coping manfully without the suspended Mason Mount and Jorginho, and injured duo Thiago Silva and Tammy Abraham.
● Holders Bayern Munich also marched into the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Lazio at the Allianz Arena last night.
Robert Lewandowski’s first-half penalty and substitute Eric Maxim Choupo-moting’s goal eased them to an 6-2 aggregate win to keep them on course for a seventh title.
Marco Parolo did pull a late goal back for spirited Lazio but they never looked like fighting back from their 4-1 first-leg defeat.