Chelsea's defence proved too strong for Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid as Thomas Tuchel's side claimed a 3-0 aggregate win; Manchester City breezed past Borussia Monchengladbach to boost their own hopes of Champions League glory
Thursday 18 March 2021 10:20, UK
Chelsea are not among the bookmakers' favourites to go on and lift the Champions League trophy. Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool are all deemed more likely winners. But perhaps a reassessment is in order.
Thomas Tuchel's side followed up their outstanding first-leg performance against Atletico Madrid with an even better one back at Stamford Bridge, comprehensively outclassing Diego Simeone's knockout specialists to secure a 3-0 aggregate win which should act as a warning to the other quarter-finalists.
It is now 13 games without loss for Chelsea under Tuchel, making this the longest unbeaten start by any manager in the club's history. Forget defeats, it is over 10 hours since they even conceded a goal.
This was their sixth consecutive clean sheet from a run of games which has featured two meetings with Atletico plus clashes against Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton.
They are hardly easy opponents and the latest shut-out was achieved without not only Thiago Silva but also his deputy Andreas Christensen, who fell ill on the eve of the game.
The defensive transformation has been extraordinary and what's most impressive is that it doesn't seem to matter who plays. The resilience and organisation Tuchel has instilled in the side, just two months on from his appointment, runs right through the squad.
Nobody will want to face them when the quarter-final draw is made on Friday. The ability to keep clean sheets is never more valuable than in European competition. And what makes Chelsea even more formidable is that their attack appears to be clicking too.
That's certainly how it looked at Stamford Bridge, anyway.
Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech have all endured difficult starts to life in the Premier League but the opening goal on Wednesday night showed just how devastating they can be when they are on the same wavelength and playing with confidence.
Chelsea had to wait until the final few minutes to add to that lead, with substitute Emerson firing home following another lightning-quick counter-attack, but they carved Atletico open repeatedly over the course of the 90 minutes. And if they can do that against them - they can surely do it against anyone.
Nick Wright
The last-16 games have almost been like warning shots from Manchester City to the rest of Europe - we're here to win. Stop us if you dare.
Pep Guardiola's side dominated both legs against an out-of-form Borussia Monchengladbach, and quickly got the job done on Tuesday. Kevin De Bruyne scored a sensational goal, followed up by a neat finish from Ilkay Gundogan, after both players returned to the side following the weekend win over Fulham.
That is perhaps one of the most striking things about this Man City side. Pep is changing almost half his starting XI in each game as they continue to compete on four fronts, but the style of play never alters. Against Fulham, they played with two recognised strikers and against Gladbach - as with many games recently - neither Gabriel Jesus or Sergio Aguero started.
And yet, the outcome was the same as City sped past 100 goals in all competitions this season. It is now the eighth year in a row that they have done so, with only Manchester United (nine in a row between 2004-05 and 2012-13) having a longer run of consecutive seasons scoring 100+ goals among top-flight English teams in history.
But it's not just the well-versed City attack that is shining in the Champions League - whoever they face in the quarter-finals will need to have some serious firepower too. City have only conceded once in Europe this season against Porto and are only the third team in Champions League history to keep seven consecutive clean sheets, after AC Milan (seven ending in April 2005) and Arsenal (10 ending in April 2006).
The likes of Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema will be hoping they might be the ones to end that run, but City will be more than up for the challenge of stopping them.
While Guardiola was keen to deflect attention away from the quarter-finals after the game, it really is another huge step towards that elusive Champions League trophy the club desperately wants to win. With their form this season, it could be their best ever chance of winning it.
Charlotte Marsh
