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Chelsea and Porto travel to Seville to face each other in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Chelsea are the designated ‘away’ side in this one and will be looking to bounce back following their shock loss to West Bromwich Albion on the weekend. Meanwhile, Porto will be aiming for another potential giant-killing.
For the first time in seven years, Chelsea will play in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The Blues beat Atletico Madrid in the round-of-16 by the aggregate score of three-nil to book their place in the subsequent round. They will face Porto next, who knocked Juventus out of the competition in the previous round.
Porto have turned out to be the surprise package of the tournament this season. The Dragons registered the competition’s biggest upset in the round-of-16 when they eliminated Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo. Sergio Conceicao’s men won the first leg 2-1, thanks to Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega’s goals. Federico Chiesa pulled one back late for the Bianconeri to leave the tie in balance before the second leg.
Sergio Oliveira increased Porto’s aggregate lead just 19 minutes into the second leg. However, Juventus staged a comeback of their own, helped by Taremi’s 54th minute red card. Chiesa scored a brace to level the tie on aggregate, thus enabling extra time. Despite playing with a man less, Porto scored again through Oliveira, leaving Juventus in need of two quick goals. Adrien Rabiot pulled one back three minutes before the end of extra time, but Pirlo’s men were unable to find that elusive second goal. Porto lost 3-2 on the night but won the overall tie thanks to the ‘away goals’ rule.
Things were far less complicated for Chelsea in their round-of-16 tie against Atletico Madrid. The Blues were the more dominant side over the two legs and won the tie 3-0 on aggregate. Olivier Giroud scored a stunning bicycle kick to give them the advantage in the first leg. With the security of the away goal, Thomas Tuchel’s side welcomed Atletico to Stamford Bridge, looking to seal their progression to the next round.
Hakim Ziyech scored the first of two Chelsea goals in the second leg before Emerson sealed the win late into the match. The London outfit will face Porto next, who they have a positive record against in the tournament. Furthermore, Porto will be without Oliveira and Taremi for the first leg, with both players currently serving a suspension.
Key Players
Mason Mount: It would not be a surprise to see Mount win Chelsea’s Player of the Year award for the 2020/21 season. The Englishman has become indispensable to the team – both with the ball and without it. Mount puts in a strong shift every time he is on the pitch and has lately become Chelsea’s key attacking threat. He presses opposition defenders once out of possession and does so for the entirety of the match.
Hakim Ziyech: It hasn’t been the season Ziyech would have hoped for when he secured his big move to Chelsea. The Moroccan has been troubled by injuries and patches of poor form and has had to deal with a mid-season managerial change. However, the attacker has shown his true talent in recent weeks and was among Chelsea’s best players against West Brom – before being substituted in a conservative move by Tuchel.
Jesus Corona: Chelsea are linked with a move to bring Corona to London next season. The Mexican is among Porto’s best attacking players and is versatile enough to play in several different positions. Porto are expected to sit back and defend deep against Chelsea. However, they will get chances to hurt the Blues, and when they do, they will be relying upon Corona to produce a bit of magic.
Pepe: The veteran defender put in an incredible shift against Juventus in the previous round of the tournament, as he kept Cristiano and Co at bay. Porto lost the second leg 3-2, but they could’ve done so by more goals had it not been for the Portuguese centre-back. He kept his team in the competition long enough for them to go on and find the winner. Despite his age, he will be key for his side when dealing with the Chelsea attackers.
Prediction
Neither side will have the home advantage heading into this one, as the match was shifted to Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville. Nevertheless, Chelsea will hope to take the lead into the second leg since they are the designated ‘away’ side for the first.
Chelsea will be the favourites to win the encounter despite Porto’s performance in the previous round. Tuchel has plenty of talented players at his disposal and will be expected to get a positive result. The Blues, presumably, will dominate the possession over the two legs, with Porto instead focusing on keeping shape. The pressure will be on them to get a win, especially considering the shock loss to West Brom on the weekend.
Despite Porto’s credentials in giant-killing, Chelsea should be the favourites heading into the match. The London-based outfit is a completely different team under Tuchel than it was under his predecessor and will hope to secure an advantage ahead of the second leg.
