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Goals in each half from Hakim Ziyech and Emerson Palmieri helped Chelsea secure a comfortable 2-0 victory against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
The hosts came into this clash with a slender advantage after Olivier Giroud's spectacular overhead finish had given them a 1-0 advantage in the first leg.
A cagey start to the game saw few chances created between the sides. However, Chelsea had the lion's share of possession in the opening stages, with 75% of the ball controlled by the Stamford Bridge outfit at the 10-minute mark.
N'Golo Kante took advantage of some hesitation in the Atletico Madrid defense but failed to make the most of his opportunity, while Marcos Alonso also spurned a good chance.
There were calls for a penalty by the Atletico Madrid players after Yannick Carrasco went down in the box, but referee Daniele Orsato was uninterested and waved play on.
Replays showed that Cesar Azpilicueta had his hands briefly around Carrasco, but the VAR did not see much contact from the Chelsea captain and agreed with the referee's decision.
Chelsea broke the deadlock soon after. A lightning-quick counter-attack saw Kai Havertz release Timo Werner down the left flank. The Germany international showed great speed and technique to lay the ball onto Hakim Ziyech, whose shot just crept beneath Jan Oblak.
This gave Thomas Tuchel's side a 2-0 aggregate lead. They had another opportunity to double their lead in the first half, but Oblak denied Ziyech with a fine save.
The Atletico Madrid goalkeeper was once again called into action at the start of the second half, this time by Timo Werner in the 47th minute. He then denied Ziyech with another stunning save 15 minutes later.
Diego Simeone reacted to his side's toothlessness in attack by taking off the ineffective Luis Suarez and bringing on Angel Correa. However, the substitutions did not have any desired effect as Chelsea continued to ask all the questions.
The visitors' job was made all the more difficult when Stefan Savic was shown his marching orders for a petulant elbow on Antonio Rudiger in the 82nd minute.
Joao Felix came close to equalizing in the second minute of injury time but Edouard Mendy produced a stunning save from point-blank range to keep Chelsea ahead.
Tuchel made two changes deep into stoppage time to kill Atletico Madrid's momentum, and one of his introductions scored with his first touch of the ball.
As Atletico Madrid pushed men forward for an equalizer, they were caught out on the break. A three-on-one situation saw Christian Pulisic tee up Emerson, and the Italy international made no mistake with a one-time finish from 12 yards.
The victory sees Chelsea secure their spot in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2014 - when Atletico Madrid eliminated them in the semifinals.
Atletico Madrid now have only La Liga action to worry about and will turn their attention to holding onto their slender lead at the summit.
Here are five talking points from a cagey fixture at Stamford Bridge.
#5 Atletico Madrid's struggles continues
A few months ago, Atletico Madrid were the toast of Spanish football, and many tipped them as favorites for a first league title since 2014.
Led by the red-hot Luis Suarez, Diego Simeone's side decimated everyone in their path and quickly opened up a 10-point advantage at the summit of La Liga with a couple of games in hand.
This was seemingly game over in the title race. However, dramatic events in the last few weeks have seen the capital side lose their grip on what was previously thought to be a foregone conclusion.
A run of three wins from their last eight league games has seen Atletico Madrid's lead at the top cut to four points. They also suffered an embarrassing defeat to third division outfit Cornella in the Copa del Rey.
When the Champions League draws were made back in December, few would have given Chelsea any chance of progress against the Spanish side.
Despite coming up against a Chelsea team in transition under Thomas Tuchel, Diego Simeone's men simply did not do enough across both legs to justify their standing as one of the top sides on the continent.
They failed to register a single shot on target in the first leg and were thoroughly outplayed at Stamford Bridge in the return fixture.
With just 11 matches to go in La Liga, the pressure is very much on Atletico Madrid to maintain their lead. On evidence of their recent performances, they just might bottle it.
#4 Vocal Thiago Silva makes his presence felt for Chelsea from the stands
Thiago Silva is currently sidelined with a thigh injury sustained on 4 February. This ruled him out of both legs of Chelsea's clash with Atletico Madrid.
Despite not being on the field, the Brazil international made his presence felt from the stands and could be heard goading and motivating his Chelsea teammates from 50 meters away.
Silva is a natural leader, with several years of experience at the highest level. He brought this to the fore from the stands, with gesticulations and directions to his teammates' positioning and awareness on the field.
He also acted as cheerleader-in-chief for Chelsea, with pure joy emanating from his face as he celebrated Emerson's goal with the suspended duo of Mason Mount and Jorginho.
#3 Chelsea's new-found defensive steel under Thomas Tuchel continues
Under Thomas Tuchel's management, Chelsea have become one of the most compact sides in England and are notoriously difficult to break down.
He has achieved this by forging a well-drilled outfit that maintains its shape at all times. This has been aided massively by his deployment of three central defenders.
The mostly static center-backs are complemented by marauding full-backs who are often on hand to thwart opposition attacks down the flank. Despite losing some of their fluidity in attack, Chelsea's defense is arguably the most compact in Europe at the moment.
In 13 matches under Tuchel in all competitions, Chelsea have conceded just three goals despite coming up against the likes of Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.
They have also kept a clean sheet in all six home games they have played under the German tactician, with the previously maligned Antonio Rudiger proving to be a hit under his compatriot.
#2 Luis Suarez has a night to forget
Luis Suarez has been the driving force behind Atletico Madrid's title charge in Spain, with his 18 goals and two assists from 24 league games propelling the Wanda Metropolitano outfit to the summit.
However, it has been a different case on the continent for the Uruguay international, which was a major criticism in his final years at Barcelona.
The 34-year-old failed to make a mark during his 59 minutes against Chelsea. The one opportunity he had to run at the hosts' defense saw Rudiger checkmate him in his stride, leading to a faint appeal for a penalty.
The frustration on his face when Simeone hauled him off just before the hour mark was evident for all to see. However, a case can be made that Suarez did not get the adequate service he needed.
Nevertheless, his blank at Stamford Bridge meant that the Uruguay international failed to score in any of his six Champions League games this season, which is far from ideal for a striker of his standing.
#1 Could this be the launching pad for Hakim Ziyech's Chelsea career?
Big things were expected from Hakim Ziyech when he joined Chelsea from Ajax. Despite arriving injured, he showed enough promise when he regained fitness before another injury halted his progress.
The change in management has hardly helped Ziyech's case, considering that Tuchel's system does not have a need for wide attackers.
The absence of Mason Mount through suspension saw Ziyech occupy the 'hole' behind Timo Werner alongside Kai Havertz.
This is not his ideal position, but the Moroccan's trickery and technique can also be exploited in the middle of the park, which is what happened against Atletico Madrid.
The 27-year-old constantly found himself in good positions and was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring for Chelsea.
Despite not being his best finish, it was still enough to give the hosts a crucial lead. Remarkably, this was Ziyech's first goal for the club since scoring against Burnley on 31 October 2020.
Having taken his chance, the former Heerenveen man will now be hoping to get an extended run of playing time under Tuchel.
Chelsea fans were right to expect big things from Ziyech, and this crucial goal against one of the biggest sides in the world will do his confidence a lot of good.
