Chelsea, Bayern march to UCL quarterfinals after convincing wins

Chelsea marched to the quarterfinals of the Uefa Champions League after registering a convincing win against Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the second leg of round 16.

The Blues went into the match with a 1-0 advantage thanks to Olivier Giroud’s overhead kick in Romania that counted after a VAR check to put the Londoners in front on aggregate.

Built on a mean defence, high press and counterattacks, the English side looked relaxed and appeared to be patient for their chances to surface. A first half-penalty appeal by Yannick Carrasco was overruled by the VAR and it was Chelsea that leaped to the front after Timo Werner sped with the ball before teeing Hakim Ziyech to fire past Jan Oblak.

In the second half, Atletico Madrid intensified their quest to bounce back in the game. Joao Felix and Luis Suarez however failed to trouble Chelsea’s back three of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Caeser Azpilicueta.

Correa came in for Luis Suarez but the changes had nothing much in influencing the game. Savic got sent off for a clumsy challenge on Rudiger handing the Blues a numerical advantage.

A counter-attack by Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz sealed the game after substitute Emerson Palmieri fired a second goal in the dying minutes of the game.

Chelsea made history by advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in six years. They also become the first team to beat the Spanish giants four times and the only team to defeat Diego Simeone’s team without Christiano Ronaldo.

Bayern surge

Bayern Munich also surged to the quarterfinals after a 2-1 victory over Lazio to make it 6-2 aggregate for the Bavarians. The teams that now advance to the quarterfinals include:

Porto, Dortmund, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern, PSG and Chelsea.