LONDON – A significant victory from Chelsea brought them into the UEFA Champions League season 2022/23 quarter finals by eliminating Borussia Dortmund last night.
In the UCL round of 16 second leg which started 7th March, Chelsea defeated Dortmund 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, surprisingly reverse the aggregate to 2-1 after a 0-1 loss three weeks ago in Germany.
The Blue Lions were not expected to overturn the situation before yesterday, as they were unable to win for six consecutive matches until they beat Leeds United 1-0 in the Premier League last Saturday.
The London club equalised the aggregate with an opening score from Raheem Sterling 43rd minute, giving them confidence to perform a comeback with support from home stadium fans.
Havertz Penalty Retaken
Kai Havertz took charge of a penalty kick in the 53rd minute but his shot hit the right pose.
However, the referee asked for the penalty to be retaken as both team players stepped into the box before Havertz took the kick.
The German forward didn’t miss his shot for the second time, scoring the deciding goal for Chelsea and becoming the second quarter finalist of the Champions League this season.
Two wins in a row including the EPL and UCL give team manager Graham Potter a huge relief despite a heavy stress to be sacked after their poor condition this year.
Benfica Crush Brugge
Benfica became the first club into the Last 8 this season after they crushed Club Brugge 5-1 in the round of 16 second leg and finished with aggregate 7-1.
Two goals from Goncalo Ramos, plus each score from Rafa Silva, Joao Mario and David Neres give the Portuguese giant an awesome victory over the Belgian club, although they sold their most valuable player Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea this January.
Brugge ended their journey as a dark horse in the UCL this season, which completed the group stage as second place of Group B, eliminating Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid.
Upcoming: Bayern Vs PSG
Another two matches of the Champions League round of 16 second leg will be played this Wednesday night, including the clash of the giants between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern beat PSG 1-0 at Parc des Princes last month, giving the French Ligue 1 reigning champion an enormous struggle to win their first ever European title.
The German powerhouse expects to stay unbeaten at Allianz Arena tonight, while Senegalese attacker Sadio Mane is back from recovery and preparing to fight.
PSG again counting on Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe to reverse the aggregate, but Neymar, another superstar from the MNM trio was absent due to injury.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur hope to perform a comeback against AC Milan at London, to become the second English club as the quarter finalists.
The Spurs lost 0-1 at San Siro in their first meet, but Chelsea’s victory gives them an excitation to complete an upturn by winning with at least one goal tonight.
Another four games of the UCL round of 16 second leg will be completed next Tuesday and Wednesday.
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