Defeating Dortmund, Chelsea enters Champions League quarter-finals

Before the rematch with Dortmund, Graham Potter was considered the coach most at risk of being fired in the Premier League. Despite spending nearly $400 million in the last transfer window, the West London team went 6 consecutive matches without a win, a result that caused them to drop to 10th place in the Premier League. Therefore, the match with the German representative has great significance for Potter and his team in the current context.

From the very first minutes at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea poured their troops into a massive attack. Opportunities were continuously created in front of Dortmund's goal, but goalkeeper Alexander Meyer played very well to block powerful shots from Kai Havertz, Sterling and Reece James. In the 3-4-3 formation, the home team showed superiority in the midfield, but this tactic also made them directly threatened by the opponent's counter-attacks many times.

In the first half, Marco Reus had a dangerous free kick but was denied by Kepa Arrizabalaga with a brilliant diving effort. In addition, Giovanni Reyna and Sebastian Haller also continuously helped the away team have dangerous threats when penetrating Chelsea's penalty area.

In Potter's all-in game, the Blues finally got results from the explosive Sterling and Havertz duo. The German striker had the ball in the Dortmund net once but it was disallowed in the 38th minute. But Chelsea's relentless pressure made the difference in the 43rd minute. Sterling missed a shot in the box but was able to make amends by beating Reus to fire past Meyer.

After the break, it was Havertz's turn to speak up. In a situation where Marius Wolf deliberately used his hand to play the ball, the referee awarded Chelsea a penalty after a tense few minutes of consulting VAR technology. On the 11m mark, The Blues' number 29 striker hit the post in frustration at Stamford Bridge. However, drama struck once again when referee Makkelie received a signal from the VAR room. Chelsea was awarded a retake of the penalty because a Dortmund player had illegally entered the penalty area. This time, Havertz could not miss the opportunity to increase the score to 2-0.

In the final minutes of the match, with the appearance of Gittens and Donyell Malen, Dortmund created suffocating pressure in front of Kepa's goal. Many times, Chelsea fans thought they would not be able to celebrate victory until the last seconds. However, all the storms have passed for the English team on a day when the visitors showed bad luck in the decisive shots.

Winning 2-1 on aggregate after two matches, Chelsea quietly advanced to the quarter-finals despite being rated low by experts in terms of performance. In the Champions League, this is the 5th time The Blues have successfully come back after losing in the first leg of a knockout match./.

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