Chelsea is set to welcome Atletico Madrid to Stamford Bridge for the second leg of their last-16 Champions League battle on Wednesday evening.
The Blues (Chelsea) have one foot in the quarter-finals after claiming a vital narrow win and away goal – against the La Liga team on February 23. Olivier Giroud’s spectacular acrobatic goal seperated both sides in the first leg tie.
Giroud’s outstanding bicycle kick in the 68th minute propelled Chelsea to a famous win in Bucharest in what was Chelsea’s boss, Thomas Tuchel‘s first European game in charge.
The immediate joy of Giroud’s acrobatic effort was extinguished due to a lengthy VAR review, but Chelsea supporters were filled with unspeakable joy once the goal was awarded.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have gotten a newfound defensive solidity under the German’s management, conceding only three times under the new boss in the Premier league. They managed to keep Luis Suarez from finding the back of the net in a crucial away triumph at the National Arena.
Tuchel’s policy of rotation is clearly paying dividends at Stamford bridge, although the often impenetrable trio of Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta have made themselves undroppable over the past couple of months.
The two European giants both played goalless draws over the weekend, as Chelsea were held by Leeds United while Atletico could not get the better of Getafe.
Tuchel remains unbeaten in 12 games since taking charge – winning eight and drawing the other four across all competitions.
Chelsea have never failed to progress in Europe after claiming a first-leg away victory, and Tuchel will hope to follow in the footsteps of previous managers.
Meanwhile Diego Simone’s Atletico Madrid seem to have lost their fiery form, having mustered three wins from nine matches across all competitions since the start of February.
Despite their dip in form, Atletico remain at the top of the LaLiga table, but Barca and Real Madrid are both hot on their trail and will undoubtedly take advantage of any further slip up from Atletico.
Two-time runners up in 2014 and 2016, Atletico have failed to progress past the quarter-final stage four seasons in a row after they were sent packing in the last eight by RB Leipzig during the 2019-20 campaign. Their hopes of a first ever Champions League crown will be dashed for another year unless they pull something outstanding against Chelsea.
Atletico Striker, Luis Suarez has already struck 18 times domestically this term since his move from Barcelona, but he is yet to make his mark on Champions League having gone five games without scoring. The 34-year-old striker will be hoping save Atletico from an exit in the elite European competition.
