LONDON:
Chelsea kept their season alive by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League 2-1 together on Tuesday.
Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz, who were twice penalized, scored as the Blues eased the pressure on manager Graham Potter.
The Englishman’s career was on the line after a season that has so far failed to earn a world record revenue of more than £500 million ( $ 600 million) in one season in new signings.
Chelsea they won just three of their first 16 games and fell to 10th place in the Premier League and early relegation in both cups.
But some of their expensive collection of stars showed up in time to stay in the hunt for the third European Cup.
The kick was delayed 10 minutes later Dortmund got stuck in heavy London traffic when he arrived at the stadium.
As soon as the action started, Chelsea jumped out of the blocks.
Alexander Meyer had to fly off his line to block Joao Felix from narrow before Havertz headed a great chance into the net.
Dortmund arrived in England on the back of a 10-game winning streak in all competitions.
But the visitors lacked an attacking threat in the first half as Marco Reus’ free-kick was brilliantly palmed to safety by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The opportunities kept coming and going to the other end. Havertz smashed a volley inside the post and eventually found the net at the bottom of the bar only for the goal to be ruled out for offside against Sterling early in the action.
The worst came when Kalidou Koulibaly made a mistake in an open goal from Ben Chilwell’s free kick and blocked Felix’s effort on the line.
The bowler is uncharacteristically on the touchline as he whips the crowd up to keep pushing his side forward.
And the home fans finally got something to celebrate three minutes before half time.
Sterling’s first-time effort was another miss as he swiped and missed Chilwell’s low cross, but the England international did himself a favor to beat Reus and volley high into the net. .
It was only Chelsea’s third goal in the last eight games.
Havertz’s penalty early in the second half meant Potter’s side had more than one goal for the first time since December 27, but the Germany international needed more kicks. two to make his mark.
Marius Wolf was penalized for handling Chilwell’s cross after a VAR review.
Havertz’s first penalty came back off the post, but VAR came to Chelsea’s rescue again when Dortmund were again penalized for the infringement.
There was no redouble as Havertz calmly placed the ball in the same path, this time finding the corner of the net.
Chelsea’s spending may have eliminated them from competing for Jude Bellingham and the Dortmund midfielder is expected to make his choice of Europe’s top clubs this summer.
On his return to England, Bellingham was far from his best and missed a great chance to level the tie when he went overboard before the break. the hour.
Chelsea were guilty of trying to defend their place in the last quarter and relied on Kepa to bail them out as Wolf stabbed the palms of the Spaniards.
But they should have added three on the counter attack as Sterling failed to stop his run before setting up for Conor Gallagher to roll into an empty net.
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