TOPS
Tuchel's winning tactic
Thomas Tuchel did not tremble for his first real test in charge of Chelsea.
And the tactical pattern in 3-4-3 established since his debut on the bench of the Blues has met expectations.
The Kovacic-Jorginho pair in the midfield gave satisfaction, Timo Werner turned out to be the main threat on Oblak's goal and Olivier Giroud perfectly justified the confidence placed in him (see elsewhere).
This perfect tactical and technical mix of Tuchel was characterized by the possession of the Blues ball on Tuesday evening, 60% at the end of this meeting.
The ball monopoly rose to 70% at the end of the first period!
While the first act was too messy, Chelsea were solid and consistent in the second half to gain the advantage without ever losing it.
Eighth unbeaten game for Tuchel.
Giroud, the lightning in the Romanian night
The wait was long, nearly three minutes and the joy of all Blues players testified to the importance of the exceptional goal scored by French striker Olivier Giroud.
While he is at the start of this action on a return of the head in the midfield, the acrobatic return of the French international crucified Oblak and Atlético Madrid on arrival.
The Blues' first (and only) real opportunity was the right one.
Olivier Giroud continues his excellent run in the Champions League with a fifth goal in six games, or one goal every 38 minutes.
Efficiency.
Returning jackets, Giroud is used to.
Tonight he turned his whole body over to score a splendid goal against Atlético.
We let you feast on slow motion
- RMC Sport (@RMCsport) February 23, 2021
Thomas Lemar active on his left side
Thomas Lemar is one of the meager satisfaction on the Atlético side.
The French international sacrificed himself on his left side to repel the London attacks, while redoubling his efforts to be dangerous offensively.
As evidenced by his activity, the Frenchman traveled 5.1 kilometers in the first act.
He could have opened the scoring in the 15th minute on the Colchoneros' only real clear opportunity, on a good cross from his teammate Luis Suarez, but he did not straighten his ball enough to conclude the action.
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FLOPS
An unspectacular match
Not a lot of space, few opportunities to eat, this match did not really look like a shock of the knockout stages of the Champions League between two competitive teams on the national level.
Atlético Madrid have returned to defensive bases, simply refusing the game (see elsewhere), while Chelsea have had great difficulty getting around this solid and compact block.
It took an individual feat from Olivier Giroud to score the only goal of the game.
The defensive choice of Simeone
Keep an attacking game that has enjoyed so much since the start of the season and allowed the Colchoneros to be alone at the top of La Liga or return to a more defensive and compact game?
Diego Simeone opted for the second option against Chelsea.
A choice anything but paying in view of the difficulties of his team to create opportunities, as Luis Suarez's teammates suffered in the game. Six shots for zero on target: this statistic is indicative of the offensive poverty of the Colchoneros in one the most important meetings of their season.
A harmless Suarez-Felix duo
It still does not want Luis Suarez in the Champions League.
The Uruguayan center-forward has still not scored a goal this season on the European stage.
A paradox when we know that he sits at the top of the scorers standings in La Liga with 16 goals.
Blame it on a game plan where the Madrid striker did nothing but defend, alongside his partner Joao Felix.
An effective first defensive curtain at the start of the game which gradually faded, by dint of seeing the efforts not be of much use.
The two main threats of the Colchoneros have not found a way to make themselves dangerous.
As the Portugal international was substituted in the 82nd minute, Luis Suarez ended the game uninspired apart from a slight altercation with Blues defender Rudiger.
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Champions League: schedule and results
