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Chelsea are through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League after defeating Porto over two legs. The Blues lost 1-0 to the Portuguese side on Tuesday but advanced to the next stage due to their 2-0 win in the first-leg.
This is the first time in seven years that Chelsea have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and it has been an eventful period for the London outfit.
There was a time when no one believed the Blues would make it this far. At the start of 2021, Chelsea were struggling to win games and were tipped by many to exit the competition at the round of 16 stage.
However, Thomas Tuchel’s arrival changed everything and the Blues have since eliminated Atletico Madrid and Porto to reach the semi-finals.
Chelsea ugly but effective against Porto
For many neutrals, the game against Porto on Tuesday was one of the most boring. For Chelsea, though, it was all about getting results and they did just that.
Tuchel has brought the winning mentality back to Chelsea and, more importantly, they now know how to win ugly. They know when to dominate, cede possession or play on the counter-attack.
The Blues played ugly against Porto, with the game’s first shot on target coming after the 60th minute. In the end, only three shots on target were recorded throughout the 90 minutes.
And despite Chelsea losing 1-0, they secured a 2-1 aggregate win to advance to the semi-finals. The best team doesn’t always win the Champions League and Tuchel knows that very well, especially from his time at PSG.
Having reached the final last season with the Ligue 1 giants, the German could manage to do the same once again this year.
Tuchel has Blues dreaming again in Champions League
Written off by almost every pundit a few months ago, Chelsea now have a big chance of reaching the final of the Champions League.
The Blues will face either Real Madrid or Liverpool in the semi-finals and that is a fixture they can navigate their way through. They may be underdogs but they cannot be completely underestimated.
All that is thanks to Tuchel, who has transformed the club from its days of massive underperformance to Champions League contenders.
“It was a tough fight and we had to work hard at times to escape the pressure. They played in a very fluid and aggressive way,” Tuchel said after the win over Porto, as quoted by Chelseafc.com.
“They showed that they can change positions all the time, they come up behind and overlap and then, in the next instance, they can underlap. So we had to be ready to adapt to their many movements.
“With every minute that went by, we did that even better and overall I am very happy with how we defended and managed this difficult game.”
Indeed, Chelsea once again managed to thwart their opponents by adapting their game to suit the occasion.
The Blues may be the least fancied among the semi-finalists but for now, they can keep dreaming after another masterclass from Tuchel and his boys.
