Is Chelsea win over BVB in Champions League a turning point?

Chelsea beat Borussia Dortmund at Stamford Bridge 2-0 on Tuesday to guide their place in the Champions League quarterfinals and ease the mounting stress on head coach Graham Potter. Needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the primary leg in Germany three weeks in the past, Chelsea made a quick begin however needed to wait till Raheem Sterling’s Forty third-minute strike to interrupt the impasse.

Kai Havertz sealed a 2-1 combination win by changing a 53rd-minute penalty on the second try. The spot kick was awarded after referee Danny Makkelle was despatched to the monitor by VAR official Pol Van Boekel to evaluation a handball by Marius Wolf. Havertz’s first effort struck the put up, however VAR revealed encroachment into the field by a number of Dortmund gamers, and Havertz slotted house the retake.

Christian Pulisic made his first look for Chelsea since Jan. 5 as a late substitute, and Chelsea held on to a valuable victory that sees them attain the final eight of Europe’s premier membership competitors for the second consecutive season.

Rapid response

1. Potter enjoys finest evening since changing into Chelsea boss

Chelsea could have overwhelmed Leeds United by a solitary unanswered objective final weekend, however Potter was nonetheless beneath important stress forward of Tuesday’s conflict with Borussia Dortmund.

The sheer scale of current funding poured into the membership by possession — round £600m all informed — calls for a higher fast return than the Blues have managed of late. An early Champions League exit would have strengthened Potter’s critics in arguing the job is likely to be too massive for the 47-year-old to deal with.

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Potter was noticeably extra animated in this match on the touchline, often making an attempt to rally the gang and reacting to refereeing choices with extra vigour than regular.

Perhaps essentially the most telling second got here when Havertz stepped as much as try to convert his 53rd-minute penalty on the second try. Potter sat in his seat and could not watch. It could have been tough going at occasions, however this should absolutely rank as Potter’s finest evening in cost since succeeding Thomas Tuchel in September.

The prospect of a Champions League quarterfinal subsequent month will give Potter a tangible achievement to level to if the home stutters proceed. But he shall be hoping back-to-back wins for the primary time since October will show to be a long-awaited turning level.

2. Have Chelsea discovered their taking pictures boots?

The lack of targets has been Chelsea’s greatest drawback beneath Potter. It threatened to be one other massively irritating night as they created after which spurned a collection of possibilities repeatedly, together with when Havertz hit the put up, or when had the ball in the web with a good end just for the offside flag to be raised.

But this time, Chelsea have been rewarded for his or her perseverance.

Raheem Sterling had endured a torrid first half, however he caught to his job and fired the house facet in entrance two minutes earlier than the break. Havertz wanted two tries however transformed his second spot kick after hitting the put up with the primary as a number of Dortmund gamers encroached in the penalty space.

Remarkably, this was the primary time since Dec. 27 that Chelsea had scored greater than as soon as in a recreation. It was exactly what they wanted to do to qualify, however encouraging performances from Joao Felix and Havertz in explicit ought to assist Chelsea banish what had absolutely, no less than in half, grow to be a psychological challenge in entrance of objective.

3. Depleted Dortmund wanted extra from Bellingham

Dortmund have been already with out injured key attacking gamers Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko, and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel when their preparations have been additional disrupted by a late arrival to Stamford Bridge, forcing kick-off to be delayed by 10 minutes.

To make issues worse, Julian Brandt was compelled off injured inside the primary 5 minutes, and so the duty of holding on to their first-leg benefit grew harder nearly by the minute.

On such events, groups want their massive gamers to step up, and though Jude Bellingham is simply 19 years previous, he has captained the facet beforehand and is a important participant in Dortmund’s assault. Unfortunately for BVB, this was not his best evening.

Bellingham was to not blame for Dortmund’s exit, however equally the midfielder was unable to affect the sport to the identical extent that has seen his proposed switch charges skyrocket forward of a seemingly summer time transfer to both the Premier League or LaLiga.

He missed a superb probability to drag Dortmund stage on combination simply earlier than the hour mark as Sebastien Haller’s shot hit Ben Chilwell and fell to him 7 yards out. Remarkably, Bellingham side-footed it vast.

A glittering profession absolutely awaits such a prodigiously gifted participant, however this was a evening to overlook.

Best and worst performers

Best: Kai Havertz, Chelsea

Linked play intelligently, had a good effort dominated out for offside and took benefit of a second probability to attain from the spot to seal a priceless victory.

Best: Mateo Kovacic, Chelsea

Won the midfield battle for Chelsea and set the tone for a largely authoritative collective show.

Best: Ben Chilwell, Chelsea

A daily menace down the left flank and made a important interception on the stroke of half-time.

Worst: Jude Bellingham, Borussia Dortmund

Missed a nice probability on the hour mark and was not at his influential finest.

Worst: Sebastien Haller, Borussia Dortmund

Struggled to impose himself, finishing simply 60% of his passes and managing just one shot.

Worst: Raphael Guerreiro, Borussia Dortmund

Lost six of his 10 duels and gave the ball away too typically.

Highlights and notable moments

It wasn’t the prettiest sequence, however Raheem Sterling put Chelsea on the board in the Forty third minute nonetheless.

The ball fell tantalisingly to Sterling’s toes, and he took a swing at it solely to overlook, however he managed to attach with the follow-up.

RAHEEM STERLING LIFTS THE ROOF OFF OF STAMFORD BRIDGE! 💥 pic.twitter.com/qB6i64wOD8

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 7, 2023

After a ball from Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell hit the arm of Dortmund’s Marius Wolf, a video evaluation ensued and the referee pointed to the spot.

Kai Havertz stepped up and missed, however resulting from encroachment in the field, the referee ordered it to be retaken, and Havertz did not make the identical mistake twice, placing Chelsea up 2-0 for the match, and up 2-1 on combination.

Jude Bellingham has a probability to place Dortmund again into the tie and misses it. 😮 pic.twitter.com/hBewARJe4o

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 7, 2023

Although Chelsea have been the higher facet on the evening, it is not as if Borussia Dortmund did not have their possibilities.

Within 5 minutes of Havertz’s objective, Bellingham had a probability to drag one again for BVB however put it barely vast.

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After the match: What the managers and gamers stated

Chelsea supervisor Graham Potter on how he’s feeling: “I’m not sure! There is a lot of emotion in the end. It was tense in the end but the boys played fantastic. I am delighted for them to get the win and great for everyone here.”

Potter on the end result after a tough stretch: “There was a fantastic feeling in the dressing room. We have been through a tough period and this competition means a lot for us. We wanted to progress and get into the last eight and it sets us up for the next few weeks.”

BVB supervisor Edin Terzic on the end result: “I think the first 10 minutes you can feel the power not just from Chelsea but from the stadium. After that, we came back into the game but they managed to score and we didn’t. We had a clear chance through Bellingham and only had a couple of counter-attacks to defend. We didn’t create much later and that’s the problem.”

BVB midfielder Jude Bellingham on the penalty name, after which the penalty kick retake: “It is a yard or two away. I am not too sure. I don’t want to get in trouble. That in itself was disappointing, but the fact they had a retake is a joke. For every penalty with such a slow run up there is going to be encroachment by people running into the box by a yard or so, but that’s the game. They’ve made the decision and we’ve had to live with it.”

Key stats (offered by ESPN Stats & Information analysis)

• Chelsea have reached the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals for the twelfth time, tying Juventus for fifth most all time.

• Dortmund see their 10-game profitable streak snapped in all competitions, as they undergo their first loss since earlier than the World Cup (Nov. 11).

• Chelsea have received back-to-back video games in all competitions for the primary time since October 2022, a four-game win streak spanning Oct. 1-16.

• Chelsea’s Kai Havertz has transformed all 15 of his profession penalty kicks taken (11-of-11 at membership stage), excluding PK shootouts.

• Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling now has 27 profession UEFA Champions League targets, which places him three shy of Wayne Rooney’s file for essentially the most by an Englishman.

• Giovanni Reyna entered as substitute for Dortmund in fifth minute for injured Julian Brandt and led his workforce with two possibilities created and earned two fouls in attacking third.

Up subsequent

Chelsea: The Blues resume their Premier League marketing campaign with a go to to Leicester City on Saturday, March 11, at 10 a.m. ET. The following week, Chelsea host Everton in league play.

Borussia Dortmund: BVB shift their focus again to the Bundesliga, the place they’ll go to Schalke 04 on Saturday, March 11 (stream stay on ESPN+ at 12:30 p.m. ET). Then, Dortmund host Cologne in league play on Saturday, March 18 (stream stay on ESPN+ at 1:30 p.m. ET).