Chelsea kept the season alive by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League 2-1 on Tuesday. Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz, with a penalty taken twice, got the goals as the Blues eased the pressure on manager Graham Potter. The Englishman’s job was on the line after a season that has so far failed to yield a world record injection of more than £500 million ($600 million) in a single season in new signings.
Chelsea had won just three of their previous 16 games to fall to 10th in the Premier League and exit both domestic cups early.
But part of their expensive collection of stars showed up in time to stay in the hunt for a third European Cup.
“There was a fantastic feeling in the dressing room. We’ve had a tough period and this game means a lot to us,” said Potter.
“We wanted to progress and get to the final eight and it prepares us for the weeks to come.”
Dortmund arrived in England after a run of 10 wins in all competitions.
But the visitors hardly posed an attacking threat in the first half, apart from a free kick by Marco Reus that brilliantly brought Kepa Arrizabalaga to safety.
“We have to say that Chelsea deserve to continue after two games,” said Dortmund boss Edin Terzic.
“Both legs were very tight matches. In these types of matches, centimeters and moments decide whether you go through to the next round or not.”
Opportunities regularly came and went on the other side. Havertz volleyed into the inside of the post and eventually found the net through the underside of the crossbar, but the goal was disallowed earlier in the game for offside against Sterling.
The worst miss came when Kalidou Koulibaly was fouled with an open goal from Ben Chilwell’s free kick and Felix’s ensuing effort was blocked on the line.
Potter was unusually animated on the sidelines as he constantly whipped up the crowd to keep pushing his side forward.
“At the end of the day, there’s a lot of emotion,” Potter added. “It was exciting at the end, but the boys played fantastic.
“I’m really happy they got the win and great for everyone here.”
The home fans finally had something to celebrate three minutes before the break.
– Sterling will be fine –
Sterling’s first try was another one to forget as he swept and missed Chilwell’s low cross, but the England international controlled himself to dribble past Reus and shoot high into the net.
“I had a little mistake on the first touch, but it landed perfectly and allowed us to build on that for our performance,” said Sterling.
That was only Chelsea’s third goal in the last eight games.
Havertz’s penalty early in the second half gave Potter’s men more than one goal for the first time since December 27, but the Germany international needed two penalties to make his mark.
Marius Wolf was penalized for handling a cross from Chilwell after a VAR review.
Havertz’s first penalty came back off the post, but VAR again came to Chelsea’s aid as Dortmund were further penalized for infringement.
There was no second delay as Havertz coolly tossed the ball the same way, this time into the corner of the net.
Chelsea’s spending habits may have barred them from joining Jude Bellingham, as the Dortmund midfielder is expected to get his pick of Europe’s top clubs this summer.
But on his return to England, Bellingham missed Dortmund’s best chance to level in extra time when he went wide from close range.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Featured video of the day
Sachin Tendulkar’s life-size statue to be unveiled in Wankhede during World Cup 2023
Topics mentioned in this article
