Chelsea faced off against FC Porto at the Estádio do Dragão earlier tonight as they looked to pick up a positive result in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie. The Blues made a bright start to the game and took the lead in the 32nd minute courtesy of a great strike from Mason Mount.
Thomas Tuchel’s men defended their narrow lead well and scored the decisive second goal in the 85th minute via Ben Chilwell’s excellent solo effort. The contest ended with the West London giants securing a 2-0 win away in Portugal.
Let’s take a look at how each Chelsea player fared during the match against Porto.
GK: Edouard Mendy – 8/10
Mendy pulled off quite a few solid saves to restrict the Portuguese side from scoring a goal. A well-deserved clean sheet for him.
CB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 7/10
The Spaniard made a couple of crucial clearances at the back and did enough to keep the Porto attackers frustrated throughout the 90 minutes.
CB: Andreas Christensen – 7.5/10
He won multiple aerial duels during the game and was a rock at the back for Chelsea. Christensen cleared his lines when needed and was excellent when passing the ball out from defence.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 7/10
Rudiger didn’t take too many chances inside his half apart from the one mistake he committed early in the second half. He performed well enough to earn the all-important clean sheet in the end.
RM: Reece James – 7/10
The English talent got back and helped his teammates out at the back by making some essential clearances during his time on the field. He got replaced late in the game.
CM: Jorginho – 7/10
The Italian midfield ace protected his backline by disrupting the opposition’s rhythm in the game. He also ended the game with an assist to his name.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 7/10
Kovacic did a little bit of everything at the centre of the park and also made two promising chances in the final third.
LM: Ben Chilwell – 8/10
Chilwell performed his defensive duties well and scored a wonderful goal late in the game which has now put his team in a commanding position to seal qualification into the semifinals of the Champions League.
LAM: Timo Werner – 6/10
The German attacker struggled to get into the game and got replaced after the hour mark.
RAM: Mason Mount – 7.5/10
Mount gave the Blues the lead with a great strike in the first half. He was also tidy when linking up play with others around him.
ST: Kai Havertz – 6/10
The German youngster hardly got a sniff at goal and was substituted in the second half.
Substitutes:
LAM: Christian Pulisic – 6/10
He added some pace to the Chelsea attack.
ST: Olivier Giroud – 6/10
Giroud never looked like he had a goal in him.
CB: Thiago Silva – 6/10
The Brazilian defender did well to see out the victory with the clean sheet intact.
CM: N’Golo Kante – 6/10
Kante added some energy to Tuchel’s midfield.
LM: Emerson Palmieri – N/A
He hardly had any time to influence the game.
