Revival at the Bridge, 3 talking points from Chelsea’s UCL win over Dortmund

Resurgent Chelsea defeat Borussia Dortmund to reach Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge.

A poor season it has been for Chelsea Football Club and so progressing to the Quater-final of the UEFA Champions League was a relief Graham Potter and his charges owed the clubs fans.

SportsRation presents three (3) talking points from Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at the Bridge.

REVIVAL AT THE BRIDGE 

After grinding out a 1-0 win over Leeds United FC on Saturday to clip a winless run that left manager Graham Potter under pressure, Chelsea FC went into the UCL clash seeking to overturn a 0-1 aggregate deficit.

To get a result good enough to progress to the last-8, Chelsea FC had to score twice, their first time in twelve [12] games.

Chelsea looked sharp in attack, the trio of Sterling, Havertz and Felix causing Dortmund problems with their pace and dynamic movements.

A lot of positive signs to show there is a revival at the Bridge. For a second straight game, Chelsea FC finished with a clean sheet.

Chelsea FC supporters will hope to see the club add to the winning streak when they face Leicester City on March 11.

3-4-3 SOLUTION 

Graham Potter has had to experiment on different playing formations and systems as he searched for solution to Chelsea FC’s poor form.

Against Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea FC lined up in a 3-4-3 formation and it looked like the boys are finally blending with Potter-ball.

The attacking trio of Kai Havertz, Joao Felix and Raheem Sterling were too hot for the Dortmund defenders.

For most part of his 65 minutes stay on the turf, Joao Felix was involved in defence and was always a key feature in Chelsea’s every attacking move.

Captain on the night Matteo Kovacic flourished in the middle of the park while Cucurella and Reece James had a decent game.

Looks like Graham Potter has found the right system for this Chelsea team. One that will see the clubs fortune move from the red box to the green zone.

POOR DORTMUND !!! 

Unlike the team that had gone 18-games without defeat ahead of kickoff at Stamford Bridge, Dortmund players were poor and rarely threatened the Chelsea backline.

Put 1,2,3 passes together, the fourth will go astray and allow Chelsea break on the counter. Star-boy Jude Bellingham endured a quiet evening at the Bridge and was guilty of missing chances that could have changed the tide in Dortmund’s favour.

Chelsea FC enjoyed enough space to flourish, for example, Marco Reus was slack to allow Sterling beat him to the ball after he mistimed his first effort for the opening goal.

Play like that in the Champions League and get punished. Dortmund were poor on the night and deserved to get booted out of the Champions League.

In the end, Chelsea’s progress to the UEFA Champions League last-8 means more time for Potter to win over his critics.

With their hopes of still ending the season with a trophy, lifting silverware in six of the previous eight seasons, the Blues live to fight another day in Europe’s elite competition.

Chelsea’s hopes of silverware and Champions League football next season depends on the UEFA Champions League, so it will be exciting to see the Blues fight with everything for the UCL title. A bleak but yet possible ambition it is.