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It was a night to forget for Atletico Madrid as Premier League side Chelsea registered a crucial 1-0 win away from home in their round of 16 UEFA Champions League tie. The West London club were authoritative in Bucharest and exposed the Rojiblancos' lack of creativity, giving themselves a great opportunity to progress to the next phase of the tournament.
The first half was mostly one-way traffic, with Chelsea seeing almost all of the ball and pinned Diego Simeone's side into their own half. Tuchel's men assumed control of proceedings and strung over 400 passes with 71% of the possession, but unfortunately had very little to show for. Atletico attempted to hurt Chelsea on the counter but failed to muster as much as a shot on target.
The visitors began with the second 45 performances with more purpose and attempted to up the ante but were still kept at bay by a well-drilled Atletico Madrid low block. The Rojiblancos' star forwards Joao Felix, and Luis Suarez saw very little joy as they spent the majority of the game defending in their own half.
Matters for the hosts got even worse in the 68th minute as French striker Olivier Giroud pulled off a sublime albeit slightly fortuitous overhead kick to give Chelsea the lead. Although the goal was immediately called off as Giroud was deemed to be offside, it was eventually given after a VAR check that lasted nearly three minutes as the final touch was off Spanish defender Mario Hermoso.
Atletico needed a quick response, and, with less than 20 minutes of regulation time left on the clock, they finally began to commit bodies forward. However, they still evidently lacked a cutting edge to cut through a solid Chelsea side and ultimately failed to register a shot on target throughout the 90 minutes of the game.
Chelsea take a one-goal advantage into the second leg, and Atletico Madrid have a huge task ahead of them, based on this game's evidence. Tuchel's men will be happy with a hard-fought win at night, and they showed great character to grind out a win against an industrious Rojiblancos side.
Here are the hits and flops from the game.
#5 Hit: Mason Mount | Chelsea
English midfielder Mason Mount showed once again why he continues to be picked irrelevant of which manager is in charge. It might not have been a breathtaking performance that set the world alight, but such was the nature of the game in itself, and Mount — with a combination of industry and creativity — was instrumental for Chelsea.
The 22-year-old continued to occupy a free role in the final third, and, despite not being afforded too much space, he managed to conjure a few great passages of play for the Blues. Mount was also benefitted by the fact that Atletico were pinned into their own third, in that he didn't have to drop too deep to collect the ball too often. His deliveries from the right also caused Atletico a few troubles, and Mount almost managed to set Timo Werner free with a through ball on more than one occasion.
He played on the right-hand side where Cesar Azpilicueta and Callum Hudson-Odoi occupied Hermoso, Felipe, and Thomas Lemar (more on him later), allowing Mount to get into good areas. He was a willing runner and despite a sub-par first 45, his contribution to Chelsea's pressure in the second half was remarkable. Mount also had the pivotal touch leading to the only goal of the game midway through the second half.
#4 Flop: Mario Hermoso | Atletico Madrid
It was a night to forget for Atletico Madrid as a whole as their performance was a far cry from what they've shown in LaLiga Santander so far, and there were more than just two flops on the night. However, Mario Hermoso made his way onto this list particularly after a moment that could potentially go on to cost his side the tie.
Marcos Alonso delivered a peach of a cross from deep on the left and Hermoso — after a deft touch from Mount — opted for an unnecessary clearance over his head and failed to deal with it. The ball eventually found Giroud, who would have been in an offside position if not for Hermoso's intervention, and the Frenchman ultimately scored the winner.
In Hermoso's defence, the former Real Madrid man did put up a decent display in the first half to deal with the overloads Chelsea caused on the right side. He was ultimately undone in the second half, allowing the likes of Mount and Hudson-Odoi much more joy on his flank in the second 45. One moment of madness from the young Spaniard went on to define the costly result for Atleti. That is, of course, apart from a stunning finish from Giroud.
Also read: Twitter explodes as Olivier Giroud stunner leads Chelsea to 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid
#3 Hit: Olivier Giroud | Chelsea
Much like Mount and the rest of Chelsea's attacking personnel, Olivier Giroud didn't have too much joy in the first 45 minutes of the game. The veteran striker was largely anonymous and his aerial threat was dealt with very well by Brazilian defender Felipe, and uncharacteristically managed to win just one of his six aerial duels in the 90 minutes.
However, his display after the break was in keeping with his performances in this year's edition of the UEFA Champions League. Giroud began to bring both Mount and Werner into the game with his superb hold-up play and made better use of the ball whenever he was afforded any space. The 34-year-old then rose to the occasion and made the difference for Chelsea when it mattered the most with an absolutely magnificent goal.
After a cross from Alonso, Giroud hung around in the box and pounced on a poorly-judged clearance from Hermoso and unleashed a superb bicycle kick to beat a diving Jan Oblak at his near post to win the game for Chelsea. It was the Frenchman's sixth goal in five UCL games this year, averaging a strike every 38 minutes.
#2 Flop: Thomas Lemar | Atletico Madrid
French wide man Thomas Lemar never really lived up to the reputation he came to Atletico Madrid with, and his display in Bucharest is another addition to the list of forgettable displays for the club. Lemar was one of the poorest players on the pitch against Chelsea, constantly being overrun by Azpilicueta, Hudson-Odoi, and Mount.
Even when he did get on the ball he couldn't make judicious use of it and, more often than not, made the wrong decision or led with a poor touch. Lemar provided little to no attacking impetus from the left and was pushed into a rather unnatural left-back role for the most part of the game, leaving Hermoso exposed on that side of the Rojiblancos' defence.
Hudson-Odoi, in particular was a player that got the better of Lemar on multiple occasions as the Englishman breezed past him to penetrate the left side of the hosts' backline. It was, for all intents and purposes, a truly uninspiring display from Atletico Madrid's €72m man.
#1 Hit: Cesar Azpilicueta | Chelsea
Chelsea's ever-reliable leader Cesar Azpilicueta continued his fine run in the side since Tuchel took over and tonight was another reminder of why that remains to be the case. The Spanish defender was arguably Chelsea's best defender on the night and that isn't down solely to his immaculate defensive work.
Tuchel has already shown that he wants his side to stretch teams out with a great amount of width, and the 31-year-old was one of the major facilitators of this approach. Azpilicueta regularly pushed high up the pitch as the wider centre-back and gave the Blues a reliable outlet on the right-hand side. This allowed right wing-back Callum Hudson-Odoi to push even further up the pitch, constantly running in behind Thomas Lemar on Atleti's left.
On the defensive end, Azpilicueta had more than his fair share of run-ins with in-form Joao Felix because of Atleti's off-the-ball shape as the Portuguese tucked into the left side of their midfield. The Blues captain handled this threat excellently and marshalled the mercurial attacker brilliantly. Azpilicueta ended the game with the most touches (117) and won more aerial duels (six) than any player on the pitch in Bucharest. A superb outing for one of Chelsea's most loyal servants.
Also read: Chelsea's All-time best Premier League XI
