Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Giroud’s acrobatics give Chelsea the upper hand
OLIVIER Giroud produced another Champions League special to hand Chelsea the advantage in their last-16 tie with Atletico Madrid after a 1-0 first-leg win in Bucharest.
The Blues forward grabbed his sixth goal in the competition this season with an overhead kick in the 68th minute but it was only awarded after a lengthy VAR review.
It was thoroughly deserved for Thomas Tuchel’s side, who dominated for large parts and extended their unbeaten run under the German to eight games since his arrival on January 26.
A negative was bookings for Mason Mount and Jorginho, which rules them out of the second leg, but Atletico boss Diego Simeone knows his team will need to score at least twice next month to go through in normal time.
Chelsea’s night started on a poor note when inside 60 seconds Mount was booked for a foul on Joao Felix, meaning he will be suspended for the second leg at Stamford Bridge next month.
After early pressure from Atletico, including a dangerous Luis Suarez centre across the face of goal, the Premier League side started to dominate possession and a long-range effort from Marcos Alonso represented the first shot on target from either side.
Goalless at the interval, Simeone would have been the happier of the two managers with numerous absentees including England full-back Kieran Trippier due to suspension.
Jorginho became the second Chelsea player to be ruled out of the second leg in the 64th minute when he brought down Joao Felix, but four minutes later the away side were able to break the deadlock in style.
Alonso got forward well and his cross was deflected into the path of Giroud, who produced a superb overhead kick from 12 yards which beat Oblak and found the bottom corner. It was immediately ruled out for offside, with Mount deemed to have knocked the ball forward for his team-mate, but after a lengthy VAR review it was adjudged Atletico centre-back Mario Hermoso had got the decisive final touch.
It gives Chelsea the upper hand ahead of the return leg at Stamford Bridge on March 17, where the Blues will aim to make the quarter-finals for the first time in seven years.