Chelsea has acquired a good starting position towards the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Thomas Tuchel’s team was too strong for Atlético Madrid in the first game of the eighth finals on Tuesday-evening with a minimal difference. The game in the Arena Nationala in Bucharest was decided by a beautiful bicycle kick from Olivier Giroud in the second half, although the VAR had to be involved to approve the goal: 0-1. Hakim Ziyech only participated in the last fifteen minutes. The return game at Stamford Bridge is scheduled for March 17.
Atlético started the game in Bucharest well and came dangerously close to Edouard Mendy’s goal area twice in the first fifteen minutes. A pass back to the Chelsea goalkeeper was almost a prey for Luis Suárez, who saw in the fourteenth minute how Thomas Lemar was a little too wild with his pass at the far post.
Chelsea made themselves more assertive as the first half progressed, dictating the pace. Despite more than seventy percent possession of the ball, Tuchel’s team did not manage to actually become dangerous. Atlético prevented the Londoners from becoming dangerous in the last meters and Jan Oblak hardly had to take action, barring attempts by Marcos Alonso and Timo Werner.
GOAL! It seemed offside, but he continues: the beautiful goal of Olivier Giroud. ??
[0-1]#veronicainside #UCL #ATMCHE pic.twitter.com/S5DO114nPl– Veronica Inside (@veronicainside) February 23, 2021
Also in the second half, the teams of Diego Simeone and Tuchel kept each other in balance for a long time, partly because there were no great opportunities. A bicycle kick by Joao Félix over Mendy’s goal was the meager highlight of the second half for a long time, but twenty minutes before the end the scoreboard started to move. After a pass from the left, the ball ended up at Giroud via Mario Hermoso, who worked the ball behind Oblak with a lovely bicycle kick.
Referee Felix Brych rejected the goal for offside, but the VAR pointed out to the referee that the ball had reached Giroud via the defender of Atlético: 0-1. Tuchel changed his team not much later and took Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount to the side, in favor of Ziyech and Ngolo Kanté. Not much later, Callum Hudson-Odoi made way for Reece James. Simeone tried to force an equalizing goal with the entrance of Moussa Dembélé and Vitolo, but Chelsea held up relatively easily until the last seconds of the six minutes extra time.