Chelsea have overturned first-leg Champions League loss to Borussia Dortmund to progress to the 2022/23 Champions League quarterfinals.
Chelsea needed to overturn the first-leg defeat at Signal Iduna Park to qualify for the next round with Graham Potter under intense pressure to turn the club’s misfortunes around after an abysmal Premier League run.
Starting Lineup
Chelsea: Kepa Arrizabalaga; Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella; Reece James, Mateo Kovacic, Enzo Fernandez, Ben Chilwell; Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, Joao Felix.
Borussia Dortmund: Alexander Meyer; Marius Wolf, Niklas Sule, Nico Schlotterbeck, Raphael Guerreiro; Julian Brandt, Jude Bellingham, Emre Can, Salih Ozcan, Marco Reus; Sebastien Haller.
It was a disappointing start by the Blues despite playing in front of their home fans. Borussia Dortmund wielded control and dominated play with 78% of the ball after just 10 minutes of play.
With Dortmund’s typical style of play; closing up spaces, quick touches of the ball, and fast-paced attacks, Chelsea failed to pick their way through the game and opted for counter when having the ball to offset the pressure by the visitors.
The Blues struggled to match Dortmund’s quick touches and possessive play and were largely overwhelmed from start.
Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly were brilliant at the back, doing just enough to scuttle the efforts of the visitors, effectively quelling assaults and keeping them off the box.
Dortmund failed to register a single shot on target from build-up play despite a commanding presence in the game from the start.
Their first attempt came via a free kick. Guerriero nearly curled it into the net but thanks to a brilliant diving save by Kepa Arrizabalaga who punched it out for a corner kick to deny Dortmund an early goal that would have doomed Chelsea’s comeback hopes.
Meanwhile, the Blues were trailing on aggregate after the first-leg loss. They needed to win the game by at least two goals to reach the quarterfinals of the competition.
With few minutes left to the end of the first half, it was still goalless. However, Chelsea nearly took the lead in the 39th minute after a free kick but thanks to Marco Reus’s terrific clearance after a goal-mouth scramble.
After the narrow escape by Dortmund, Chelsea charged upfront again with a menacing pace and finally got the opener with Raheem Sterling firing from inside the box to give the Blues the lead in the 41st minute.
It was a relief strike by the former Manchester City player, levelling the tie on aggregate for the Blues and leaving the game finely poised for a dramatic second half.
Borussia Dortmund had been the better side throughout the first half but the late pressure by Chelsea saw Raheem Sterling crack Ben Chilwell’s square ball into the net after effectively rounding Reus.
That single moment of brilliance spoiled the parties for the Bundesliga side but there was still a lot to play for in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Blues managed just 43% of the ball possession but had more shots than Dortmund with two on target.
In the 48th minute, Chelsea players made a loud call for a penalty after the ball hit Wolf’s arm following a cornerkick. The referee awarded a penalty after VAR check.
Kai Havertz stepped up and converted it to double the lead and set the Blues on the path to a straight aggregate win over the the in-form Bundesliga giants.
After conceding two goals, Dortmund ramped up attempts to pull a comeback but where vulnerable at the back when going forward.
Gallagher made it 3-0 for the Blues after catching the visitors off-guard on a counter attack but the goal was ruled offside and chalked off.
After the two-goal lead, the Blues settled into the defense to secure the win against the high-pressing Dortmund.
Surviving a marathon of attempts by the Bundesliga giants, Graham Potter finally grabbed a deserved Champions League victory to progress to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 aggregate win.
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