Match Statistics: Chelsea 2-0 Atletico Madrid
Hakim Zeech from Kai Havert to Timo Werner.
It is a combination of many Chelsea fans – and board members – dreaming up over the summer as the Blues spent more than £ 150 million ($ 209 million) to upgrade their attack.
And although it may take a trio until mid-March to combine for a huge, match-winning moment, the beauty of Zaich’s goal against Atlético Madrid was worth the wait.
After N’Golo Kante completed a takedown from a corner, Havertz played a delightful clapped pass en route to Werner, which left Ziyech in space before taking him to the far post for a straight finish.
Chelsea have broken their record not only in the Champions League, but in the season since their 2012 triumph, to challenge Banks at the top of the Premier League table in the summer.
The experience within that side slowly faded away, and it reached the quarter-finals only once in 2014 before this campaign.
But under Thomas Tuchel, the club is already looking like it could be a force on the continent again, especially if its big-money signs have finally found their feet.
Tuchel has brought defensive tenacity to the Blues, and they have now gone 597 minutes in all competitions without achieving the goal following Diego Simeone’s 2–0 win over Stamford Bridge.
But they lack the magic going forward, with most of their attacking players still suffering from a hangover from the final week of Frank Lampard’s tenure.
Perhaps it was fit, then, that the man once dubbed “Amsterdam’s wizard” Ziech, was the player to break the deadlock in a game where Atletico caused Chelsea some early problems, most notably Via Zoya Felix.
The counterattack for the opener showed all the guiding, speed and killer instincts that Chelsea have missed in the final third, and if it is really up to the challenge of Europe’s elite, let him go with his defensive ability Will need to show more.
It was Zaich’s first goal after a 20-game drought, while Havert netted just once in his last 25 games, and Werner twice in his final 27.
That’s not to say they haven’t been playing well as of late, with Havart being reborn as a “false nine” and Werner looking for more confidence than Lampard in recent weeks.
The former RB Leipzig man’s raw stats for his first season in England – 10 goals and seven assists – does not look too bad, but the narrative around him suggests that he has flopped.
Here, however, he was a constant threat, using his speed to get behind the Atlético back line which is not at the level of the mid-2010 Diego Godin-led quartet.
Ziyech, meanwhile, was putting out all his old street football moves as the game progressed, and Tuchel would hope that the Moroccan international would be able to maintain this level in the final run-in.
The win, which was terminated by another spectacular counterattack by Emerson Pamieri in injury time, was perhaps Tuchel’s best time with the club, and Roman Abramovich would have hoped to bring back home and continental glory. Hired the man. West London.
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No team will want to face their in-form form when Friday’s quarter-final draw takes place, and leading up to the final season – albeit under unique circumstances – he has experience navigating a route through the knockout rounds.
While the Paris Saint-Germain team was built through its onslaught, Chelsea’s foundation is in its defense at the moment.
But if the Blues’ summer purchases can be based on their performance here, then suddenly Tuchel may have a forward line, one capable of being one better in 2020 than Neymar and Kylen Mbappe.
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