Chelsea put themselves in pole position to advance to the Champions League semi-finals after notching two vital away goals in their victory over FC Porto.
Fresh off their first defeat under Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea sought to ease their way into the contest. A cagey opening 10 minutes saw little created by either side, but Porto soon showed they cannot be underestimated.
A break down the right saw the ball cut back to Luis Diaz. After taking a touch away from goal, the Colombian saw his low strike blocked by Andreas Christensen from close range.
Mateus Uribe then showed great technique to volley goalward from the edge of the box. His strike was true but failed to dip in time as it skimmed off the roof of the net.
The chances continued to flow one way as Edouard Mendy did well to palm a dangerous corner out from under the crossbar. The ball ultimately fell to left-back Zaidu Sanusi, though his resulting effort was blazed over.
As the half-hour mark approached, Chelsea had yet to register their first attempt of the clash. Mason Mount soon remedied the sluggish start.
Jorginho was allowed to roam freely in midfield before picking out the red-hot Mount.
The England international’s first touch to spin in behind the defender was sublime before finishing low and hard into the bottom corner.
Mason Mount with a brilliant maiden #UCL goal 💥
The pass, the swivel, the finish! 🔥
Superb stuff from Chelsea! pic.twitter.com/gM45SDlczG
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 7, 2021
Going behind did not deter the Portuguese outfit, though neither Pepe nor Marko Grujic could find a way past Mendy as the first half drew to a close.
The second-half began as the first left off as Porto remained in the ascendancy.
Moussa Marega ghosted in behind Antonio Rudiger to latch onto an accurate through ball, but the excellent Mendy was once again on hand to frustrate the Portuguese outfit.
Chelsea finally began to look dangerous as Porto threw bodies forward in numbers. Cesar Azpilicueta found a yard of space from a set piece but somehow failed to find the target with his headed effort from four yards out.
Thomas Tuchel shuffled his deck in attack with Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud replacing Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.
Pulisic came within a whisker of notching a vital second away goal but saw his rifled drive crash off the woodwork.
It mattered not, as moments later Ben Chilwell capitalised on a defensive error to put the Blues in a commanding position.
The left-back raced towards goal and rounded the goalkeeper with ease before tapping into the empty net to double their advantage.
Ben Chilwell punishes the Porto defence!
Great composure from the Chelsea left-back as he breaks through and rounds the keeper before slotting home 🙌
A MASSIVE goal! pic.twitter.com/jjnHHwuPbl
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 7, 2021
With their West Brom debacle firmly in the rear-view mirror, Chelsea saw off the final minutes to secure a 2-0 victory in the away leg.
