MERRY MASON
MOUNT GIVES CHELSEA THE EDGE AND CHILWELL STRIKE CAPS A PERFECT EVENING FOR THE BLUES
MASON MOUNT and Ben Chilwell scored exquisite first Champions League goals to put Chelsea, who beat Porto 2-0, on the brink of a place in the last four of this season’s competition.
England midfielder Mount superbly took Jorginho’s fine pass before turning and striking a fine shot into the bottom corner just after the half hour, although Porto goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin should have done better.
Then with five minutes left, moments after Christian Pulisic had struck the crossbar, Chilwell cut in from the left and took the ball around Marchesin for a splendid individual strike.
They count as two valuable quarter-final away goals for Chelsea even though both this and next Tuesday’s second leg are being played in Seville, on a ground where the Blues had beat the usual hosts 4-0 in the group stages.
Thomas Tuchel will be delighted with the way his side responded to Saturday’s shock 5-2 home defeat to West Brom as he moved closer to becoming the first man to reach successive Champions League finals with two different clubs, having achieved the feat with Paris Saint-Germain last season.
Blues keeper Edouard Mendy did have to make a couple of good saves, from 38-year-old Pepe in the first half and Moussa Marega in the second.
And there was certainly enough of a threat from Porto, conquerors of Juventus in the round of 16, to suggest Chelsea cannot take the second leg lightly – particularly as their most prolific goalscorers Sergio Oliveira and Mehdi Taremi will both be back next week after suspension.
The re-run of last season’s final may hold more appeal for the neutrals, however, after PSG got some revenge for last August’s 1-0 defeat in Lisbon by winning 3-2 at Bayern Munich.
Tuchel’s former club raced into a 2-0 lead through Kylian Mbappe and Marquinhos. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thomas Muller pulled Bayern level but Mbappe got a second-half winner.