Chelsea beaten by Porto but progress to Champions League semi-finals

N’GOLO KANTE’S tireless midfield performance steered Chelsea to a first Champions League semi-final in seven years despite the Blues’ 1-0 quarterfinal second-leg loss to Porto.

Mehdi Taremi’s stunning overhead kick in second-half added time put the squeeze on Chelsea, but the Blues still progressed to the semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate.

They will now meet either Real Madrid or Liverpool – who play tonight – in their first semifinal since losing out to Atletico Madrid in 2014.

Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell’s first-leg goals proved decisive in the end, with Chelsea coasting for much of Tuesday’s second leg in Seville.

Taremi’s late acrobatics planted a seed of doubt, but Porto produced too little, too late – and Chelsea deservedly moved into the last four.

France World Cup-winner Kante was not even meant to start in Spain, but was pressed into last-minute service after a minor injury to Mateo Kovacic.

The 30-year-old midfielder cemented Chelsea’s dominance in the tie with a stunning showing at both ends of the pitch, in a performance to delight the regimented Blues.

Blues boss Thomas Tuchel was delighted with the application shown by his team as they faced up to a tough assignment.

He said: “Maybe on the television it was not so nice to watch but at the sideline it was a very intense game, a very fast game in the first half without a lot of interception in the beginning of the first half, so it was a tough fight, very hard to play against them and to escape the pressure.

“They are a very aggressive team, Porto, and they attack in a very fluent and aggressive way. They change positions all the time, they come from behind, they overlap, they under-lap

– you have to adapt to many movements.

“But after a tough start, with every minute we did it better and better. We defended very, very well, we deserved absolutely a clean sheet, we had the better chances – not a lot, but better chances, better half-chances.

Paris St Germain knocked holders Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on away goals despite losing the second leg of their quarter-final 1-0 at Parc des Princes.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men had edged a thrilling first-leg clash 3-2 in Munich, and saw Neymar denied by the woodwork twice before Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting bundled the Germans in front on the night.