Despite dominating the first leg, Chelsea found themselves trailing Borussia Dortmund ahead of the return fixture at Stamford Bridge – due to Karim Adeyemi’s blistering counterattack. After Graham Potter’s side picked up a win against Leeds on the weekend, they sought to overcome the deficit and progress to the next round of the Champions League.
CHE: Kepa; Cucurella, Koulibaly, W. Fofana; Chilwell, Kovacic, Fernandez, James; Felix, Havertz, Sterling
BVB: Meyer; Guerreiro, Schlotterbeck, Sule, Wolf; Can; Reus, Ozcan, Bellingham, Brandt; Haller
Kickoff was pushed back by ten minutes after the visitors’ arrival at Stamford Bridge was delayed – but Chelsea wasted no time and sought to attack from the offset, with Joao Felix’s strike parried away for a corner before Kalidou Koulibaly’s headed effort was sent wide.
Kepa Arrizabalaga was forced into action early on too, producing a sensational save to deny Marco Reus’ free-kick. Edin Terzic’s side were certainly growing into this fixture, with Jude Bellingham controlling the midfield well and helping Dortmund maintain the majority of the possession.
Kai Havertz nearly sent the Blues ahead with just under thirty minutes played, as his strike hit the inside of the post before looping back out behind Alexander Meyer and eventually sailing out of play! The hosts had certainly had the best of the chances, and should have levelled the aggregate score with that chance!
Havertz had the ball in the back of the net soon after though – rifling an effort in off the underside of the crossbar, but the goal was disallowed as Raheem Sterling was offside in the buildup! Between Havertz and Felix, the Blues really should have taken the lead – but it was Sterling who eventually found the opener in the 43nd minute, lifting a shot over Meyer from inside the box to propel the hosts into the lead on the night! The tie was level!
The Blues were awarded a penalty shortly after the break, as Chilwell’s cross into the area was handled by Marius Wolf – and despite sending Alexander Meyer the wrong way, Kai Havertz hit the post from the spot… but it wouldn’t matter all too much, as Dortmund were found to have illegally encroached, meaning Chelsea would be allowed to re-take the penalty! Having missed the first strike, Havertz stepped up again to take the second and this time he made no mistake, firing into the bottom-right corner – just as he had tried to do with his first effort. Chelsea lead!
Jude Bellingham came close to bringing Dortmund level, firing home from inside the box after Haller’s strike was blocked – but the Englishman’s strike was sent marginally wide of the post. One goal wouldn’t be enough for the German side, as the away goals rule has been scrapped – they’d need two to go through. Emre Can unleashed a speculative effort from outside the box in desperation with thirty minutes left to play, but that strike was caught well by Kepa.
Conor Gallagher found the back of the net to make it three, after Raheem Sterling used his pace to exploit the Dortmund backline before squaring it to the young midfielder – but a quick VAR check confirmed that Sterling was offside in the buildup.
Graham Potter’s substitutions were clearly designed to hold on to their lead, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Denis Zaharia among those introduced as the game reached its conclusion. Zakaria drilled a ball into the box during stoppage time with Pulisic the intended target, but the American international couldn’t get onto it. An increasingly desperate Dortmund began to unleash shot after shot, with Marius Wolf coming closest in the final minutes – but Edin Terzic’s side couldn’t find a breakthrough, meaning it’s Chelsea that cruise through to the next round.
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