It was just one of ‘those’ nights for us Chelsea fans last night, we collectively partied like it was 1999 as our team brushed aside the La Liga leaders to go through to the Champions League quarter finals.
Twitter was absolutely bliss after the game for a very rare change, and Chelsea fans rejoiced, as did the players, even those forced to watch from the stands as Jorginho, Mason Mount, and Thiago Silva joined in a group celebration when Emerson got our second goal!
I also have some significant exclusive news on Chelsea’s pursuits of Erling Haaland and Gianluigi Donnarumma here.
It summed the night up perfectly, and I imagined millions of Chelsea fans across the world jumping up and down celebrating with their families in their living rooms. If only they allowed fans in the stadium.
As a match reviewer, it was a perfect game for me, everything was literally positive to report and every player played well and did their part.
Thomas Tuchel’s post-match press conference was equally as easy, as our boss hailed everyone!
“It was a very good performance,’ said Tuchel after the game via the Chelsea website.
“We go through and that was deserved. It was an unbelievable team effort from the guys on the pitch, the guys on the bench and even the guys in the stands!
“It was a really big win for us and a deserved win. The amount of effort and intensity from the team in both legs was outstanding and incredible. We missed four key players but everybody else stepped up so I’m very happy.
“There were moments when we were excellent with the ball, we had brave and courageous defending, and adapted to any system the opponent played. It was a big win, a deserved win and I’m super happy for my players.
“He [Ziyech] played today because he did it with Ajax and he came to a semi-final. He has good experience in the Round of 16, he knows how it feels to arrive in the knockout round and go through to the last eight.
“The second reason he played is because he deserved it and the third is we missed Mason Mount and we wanted to replace his work-rare and intensity with Hakim because we knew we faced a midfield of three with a lot of quality. Maybe he suffers a bit to adapt to our style because he loves to play creative and he needs to adapt to the structure but he gives a very reliable work-rate for the team.
“I never know the age of my players because I just judge from their performances. If you play with NG [Kante], you always play with minimum half a man more because he gives an intensity volume that is simply outstanding and this is unique. It’s a pleasure to be coach for him and it’s a big gift for me.
“A guy so humble and don’t underestimate his quality in passing, dribbling and escaping the pressure. There are still things to improve with him but it’s fantastic to have him.
“The guys play with a special bond and results like this give you a certain edge and glue to achieve special things. You can only do it with a special atmosphere. I’m pretty sure nobody wants to play against us in the last eight. It will be a big step but there’s no need for us to be afraid.”
