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Chelsea secured their first UEFA Champions League quarter-final berth in seven years as the Londoners beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 on Wednesday night. Goals from Hakim Ziyech and Emerson Palmieri ensured that Thomas Tuchel maintained his 13-game unbeaten run as Chelsea boss as the Blues kept yet another clean sheet on the biggest stage in European football.
With Olivier Giroud’s acrobatic effort separating the two sides from the first leg, it needed a massive push from Los Rojiblancos to turn things around at Stamford Bridge. Atletico Madrid started the game positively but were soon overshadowed by Chelsea, who put in a thoroughly professional display.
On that note, let's take a look at the player ratings from both sides as Diego Simeone saw himself being outclassed by Thomas Tuchel.
Chelsea player ratings
Edouard Mendy - 7/10
Mendy had a typical game as the goalkeeper hardly saw the ball in both halves and was undisturbed throughout. But it definitely did not lead to a lapse in concentration as he made a couple of huge blocks, denying Joao Felix twice on the night and thereby keeping his sixth clean sheet in the Champions League this season.
Cesar Azpilicueta - 5.5/10
The Chelsea captain had a solid game but there were moments when he looked out of position and baffled by Atletico's press. Azpilicueta nearly handed the Spanish giants a penalty early in the first-half as he appeared to bring down Carrasco in a 50-50 challenge, which the referee shrugged off immediately.
Kurt Zouma - 7/10
Zouma hasn't been favored by Thomas Tuchel much since the German's arrival. But the French centre-back repaid the faith instilled upon him by the gaffer as he was a wall between Atletico and Mendy's goal.
Antonio Rudiger - 7/10
Alongside Zouma at the heart of Chelsea's defense, Rudiger was much more mobile than the Frenchman. The German international was involved in an incident which saw Atletico's Stefan Savic seeing a straight red. Overall, it was a fundamentally strong performance by the 28-year-old defender.
Reece James - 8/10
The young full-back was at the top of his game for the entire 90 minutes. He forced Renan Lodi to suffer on the right-flank to the extent that the Atletico defender was replaced by Diego Simeone at half-time.
N'Golo Kante - 8.5/10
It was another world class performance by N'Golo Kante from behind the scenes. The French midfielder covered each and every blade of grass on the field and made four key interceptions, two of which led directly to goals by Ziyech and Emerson. Kante was the reason why Joao Felix was quiet for the entire game on Wednesday.
Mateo Kovacic - 8/10
Although Kante stole the show for Chelsea, Kovacic was the bridge between defense and offense for Chelsea. Swiftly moving past Atletico's press and playing the ball forward at every opportunity, Kovacic had a stellar game.
Marcos Alonso - 7/10
Alonso has found a new lease of life under Tuchel and the Spaniard seems to be making the most of it. It was another resilient performance by Alonso as he ensured he was defensively solid throughout the game.
Hakim Ziyech - 9.5/10
The Moroccan international had his best game in Chelsea colors on Wednesday as he opened the scoring through his weaker right foot on the half-hour mark. He was even more lively deep into the second-half and saw a great effort saved by Jan Oblak late in the game.
Kai Havertz - 7/10
Havertz looked out of position several times during the game. But despite an ordinary outing, he showed his quick feet and even had a direct impact on Chelsea's first goal.
Timo Werner - 9/10
The German forward, who was too fast for the visiting opposition, set up Ziyech for the opening goal. He had a go at Jan Oblak's goal every now and then.
Chelsea substitutes ratings
Christian Pulisic - 7/10
He looked sloppy as he failed to dribble past Atletico's backline even once since coming on in the second-half. However, he provided the assist for Emerson's goal, which put Chelsea 2-0 up on the night.
Callum Hudson-Odoi - 6/10
Hudson-Odoi had few chances in the game after coming on, with his overall presence not impacting the game much. He could have made it 3-0 for the Blues late into the game though.
Ben Chilwell - 6/10
Chilwell was one of the changes Tuchel made to see out the game in smooth fashion. Brought on just on the brink of injury-time, Chilwell hardly had a minute or so to make an impression.
Emerson - 8/10
Emerson turned his first touch to gold on Wednesday night. The full-back, who was brought on late by Tuchel, scored after Christian Pulisic squared a pass to him.
Atletico Madrid player ratings
Jan Oblak - 5.5/10
Oblak was no doubt the reason why Chelsea couldn't score more. But the Atletico stopper should have done better to save Hakim Ziyech's effort, which resulted in the first goal.
Kieran Trippier - 5/10
Trippier was at fault just before Chelsea opened the scoring in the first-half. The English right-back's crossing effort failed, leading to a quick counter-attack by the Blues, ending in Ziyech slotting the ball home.
Stefan Savic - 4/10
It was one of the most unprofessional performances from the experienced Stefan Savic on Wednesday night. Savic struggled to keep pace with Timo Werner for the most part and was shown a straight red after he elbowed Antonio Rudiger in the Chelsea penalty area.
Jose Gimenez - 5.5/10
Gimenez was the best performer in Atletico's scrambled defense. But even the focused Uruguayan failed to keep his composure late on as he earned a booking for a reckless challenge on Kai Havertz.
Renan Lodi - 4/10
Lodi had a nightmarish first-half as he tried to contain Reece James on the left flank, but to no effect. The left-back was time and again exposed by his English counterpart and his first-half display was so abysmal that Simeone replaced him at half-time.
Koke - 6/10
Koke was one of the players who could have impacted the game in a much better way, but he failed to step up to the occasion.
Saul Niguez - 5/10
Saul barely had a touch of the ball in the first-half as he failed to dispossess either N'Golo Kante or Mateo Kovacic in the center of the park. The attacking-minded player, who has scored some worldies in the past, failed to step up when his side needed him the most.
Yannick Carrasco - 6/10
The Belgian winger was a live wire in the opening minutes of the game and had a huge penalty shout turned down in the first-half. But he fizzled out as the match progressed.
Luis Suarez - 5/10
The Uruguayan striker had a very poor outing as he hardly disturbed Edouard Mendy, resulting in him being substituted for Angel Correa.
Joao Felix - 6.5/10
Joao Felix was definitely Atletico's best man on the field. The young Portuguese made some blinding runs down the flank before cutting inside. It was unfortunate that none of his teammates stepped up to support him in attack.
Atletico Madrid substitutes ratings
Mario Hermoso - 6/10
Hermoso replaced a struggling Renan Lodi at half-time. The Spaniard definitely did better than his teammate in marking Reece James, but he still had a lackluster outing.
Moussa Dembele - 5/10
The French international came on in the second-half, but he did not have a single touch for the first 15 minutes upon his arrival. His performance was far from dangerous for the settled and calm Chelsea defense.
Angel Correa - 5.5/10
Angel Correa dropped a bit deeper, giving Joao Felix the freedom to roam in the final third. Tactically, it was a great decision by Correa, but it turned out to be his only contribution in the game.
Thomas Lemar - 6/10
Having partly impressed as a wing-back in the first leg, Thomas Lemar came on in the 70th minute. He won three of his five ground duels and had a 100 per cent passing accuracy on Wednesday night.
