Chelsea almost have one foot in the semi-finals of the Champions League – but the players who engineered their victory over Porto last night are not getting too carried away.
Goals from England duo Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell earned the Blues a routine 2-0 verdict in Seville.
Of course, both legs of their quarter-final tie against Portuguese opposition are being played at the same Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan venue – with the second leg pencilled in for next Tuesday night (8pm).
It’s very much advantage Chelsea, though, as goals towards the end of each half gave the Blues a healthy cushion during their ‘away’ leg on neutral ground in the Spanish city.
Here is how the two Chelsea goalscorers reacted on social media post-match.
Although there is still work to be done upon their return to Spain next week, the result was significant on the back of a testing few days at Stamford Bridge.
Indeed, after watching their unbeaten start to life under Thomas Tuchel end in catastrophic style against relegation-threatened West Brom, the club were forced to deal with plenty of criticism, while Tuchel intervened in a training ground bust-up between Antonio Rudiger and Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Tuchel has spoken openly about that confrontation – praising both players for how they handed it in the aftermath – and the head coach even recalled Antonio Rudiger in one of five changes to his line-up for the Porto clash.
And the German defender was among those to respond to the win after the game in Spain.
Not only was it a successful evening for Chelsea in terms of the result, captain Cesar Azpilicueta also reached a key milestone as he led out the Blues for the 150th time in all competitions.
He ultimately marked the occasion with a priceless clean sheet, as Tuchel’s side picked up two crucial away goals at the other end – courtesy of Mount and Chilwell.
It was Mount’s 11th goal for club and country so far this season – and his third in his last four games.
And Azpilicueta and team-mate Timo Werner also took to social media after the game to speak of their delight at the result.
Before the Blues can rubber-stamp their European progression, they must first return to business in the Premier League though.
A trip across London to Crystal Palace awaits for Chelsea on Saturday afternoon (5.30pm), with Tuchel’s side now a point behind West Ham in the race for top-four in the Premier League.
It’s shaping up to be a mouthwatering finale on that front, too, as five clubs from the Hammers down are separated by the same number of points – with eight matches left to play.
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