Chelsea Raves Over Porto 1-0 to Semi Finals

A forgettable 0-1 win for Porto by virtue of an unforgettable overhead kick from Mehdi Taremi saw Chelsea progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 2-1 victory on aggregate.

For the longest time, this looked to have shutout written all over it. Thomas Tuchel’s side produced a controlled, sensible performance that felt like a word to prospective opponents in the last four of Europe’s premiere club competition. This is a team that just gets stuff done and either Real Madrid or Liverpool are about to find that out.

There was a late injection of jeopardy when Nanu’s cross from the right was met by a breathtaking acrobatic effort from Taremi, which rippled the far corner of the net. By then, we were into the fourth of four added minutes at the end of the 90. This was a 1-0 in 0-0’s clothing.

Can a subdued defeat be classed as a professional display? In this instance, from Chelsea’s perspective, it can. Because while the cards were stacked in their favour with that 2-0 lead from the first leg, this tie was not decided. But with the groundwork laid in Seville last week, the cement was applied in  west London to set in stone.

The cushion of Chelsea’s two away goals were a couple stones in the shoe for Porto that they could not shake loose. Even given the aberration of the last game at Stamford Bridge where Sam Allardyce’s West Bromwich Albion found five goals, the fact that the previous six home games under Tuchel were all clean sheets did not bode well for the three or more Sergio Conceicao’s outfit needed on the night. It did not bode well that a recent trend coming into this fixture had Porto winless in seven meetings against English opposition in the Champions League. Make that eight now.