Wars are been won on the battlefield and never say never in an instance where the war hasn’t even begun. That was the case yesterday for the London side Chelsea, who shocked many with their inch-perfect display on the pitch against their Spanish rival.
The match might be just a win for many but for Chelsea faithful’s and [players, it’s reassurance in their footballing ability and a wake-up call to all teams. before last night victory, many wrote the blues off and predicted Chelsea getting ass whooped by Athletic0 Madrid.
A lot of pundits wrote Chelsea off before the ball was even kicked, with many citing that the team lacks the skillset and manpower. Many cited records of Chelsea in the tournament. Truth be told, the blues track record has not been encouraging as they have failed to past this stage since 2014.
Chelsea won based on how compact they were at the back and it's remarkable on fast Tuchel has been able to accomplish that. In just less than 2 months in charge, he has forged an unpenetrated defensive line up for the blues and that has seen them concede just 3 goals in his nine matches in charge.
On Tuesday night, the defensive line up was solid after conceding in their last match to the saints. Their star man at the backline sat this out due to injury. Thiago silva injury further provided more reason for people to doubt Chelsea hopes of qualifying but his replacement did well.
Chelsea managed to restrict the ATM team to a zero-shot on target. It was a masterpiece defending from this Chelsea side. it’s an improvement that many people didn’t expect but it further showed how far gone Tuchel has drilled this Chelsea team.
One area Tuchel needs developing further is Chelsea attacking aspect. The team are playing fantastically well and have always been in control in all their matches played under Tuchel but their finishing has let them down on numerous occasions.
Chelsea is pressing relentlessly, and this is furthering limiting and curtailing the activities of their rival on the ball. The players have adjusted to this duty effortlessly and it looks like they have been playing this way all their life.
The pressing might be great but the returns in terms of goals haven’t equalled the number of goals Chelsea has scored in the final third. Chelsea is yet to score above two goals in the eight matches played so far. They have scored 1 goal in four matches and 2 goals in the other four matches played
Chelsea under Tuchel had played like a very top team with purpose and direction in each game.
Against Athletico Madrid, their swift football was on display and they were rewarded with just a fine goal capable of winning any match on any day.
The goal came from Giroud and its a high light of how important he is to the Chelsea squad. His input in key moments like this has helped Chelsea win three titles already. His goal was a thing of beauty and no one could ignore how brilliant it was.
An overhead kick which the best goalie in the world at the moment could do nothing about is worth seeing over and over again. The goal came from the high pressing Chelsea had dished throughout the night and it forced one of the best defence in Europe to make a mistake.
Chelsea has one leg in the quarter-final already and it remains to be seen if this Chelsea side will complete the job in the second leg and play in the next round of the tournament which they last played in 2014.
For now, the Chelsea fans are happy and they have all the right to be. the Coach will be proud of his team and of course, Giroud will be a happier man as this boost his chances of playing more games
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