There is something about winning a Champions League quarter-final first leg away from home that gets fans believing in final victory more than anything else. Indeed, supporters can now see a plausible path to the final with previous fears of an exit in the last eight all but extinguished. As far as Chelsea fans are concerned, they will be pinching themselves at the prospect of mixing it with Europe’s elite after an indifferent season domestically.
The Blues may be fighting for a top-four finish back home but incredibly, they are at just 7/2 in the latest football odds to win the Champions League. Those odds pay testament to manager Thomas Tuchel’s sensible and pragmatic approach on the continent.
Indeed, Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Porto in the first leg was an example of the German’s level-headedness having just come off the back of a disastrous loss against relegation-bound West Brom where they shipped five goals. Subsequent rumours followed of a training ground bust-up between Antonio Rudiger and Kepa Arrizabalaga which threatened to derail Chelsea’s hopes of capitalizing on this surprising position they find themselves in the Champions League.
Instead, the 47-year-old brought the focus back to purely football matters and took complete control over the change room. What followed was a faultless performance in Seville – the neutral ground for the playing of this tie – that has virtually guaranteed the Blues a place in the semi-final.
Impressively, under the management of Tuchel, Chelsea haven’t conceded a goal in the Champions League since he was brought in to replace Frank Lampard who was sacked at the end of January. Some may argue that drawing Porto in the quarter-final draw was the most favourable outcome Chelsea could have asked for, but those accusations can be swiftly dismissed given that the Portuguese outfit spectacularly knocked Juventus out in the round of 16.
Furthermore, Tuchel was able to take his young Chelsea side to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium and beat Diego Simeone’s La Liga leading Atletico Madrid. When Atleti arrived at Stamford Bridge to reverse their previous 2-0 defeat, they once again found no way through Tuchel’s defence.
On top of an impregnable back four, at the other end of the field, Tuchel has given Mason Mount license to be at his industrious best which has brought the best out of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. Chelsea now look like a European force that are going to take some stopping this season. Few would have predicted this outcome whilst Lampard’s Chelsea did their best job of flattering to deceive before Christmas. Indeed, in what feels like the blink of an eye, Tuchel’s Chelsea team look well enough equipped to win the Champions League after effortlessly putting Porto to the sword.
As previously mentioned, Chelsea fans will be waking up in the south west of London with a much clearer image of the road left to the final. With Tuchel plotting the safest passage through the continent towards Istanbul, the Blues have every chance of successfully making it.
