Thiago Silva was so involved in the game, living every moment intensely, kicking every ball and celebrating every good move (and goal) in the stands, that we feared he might get hurt again and stay away longer than he already was.
However, when he joined the suspended duo Jorginho and then Mason Mount, it underlined how intensely Chelsea was treating this game. Each one of us.
Of course, we knew we had to do this at the very least. Atlético have never been so passive as in the first leg. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and they certainly played that way, especially in the beginning.
But Chelsea more than equaled the intensity of the visitors and, combined with some quality counterattacks, some moments of possession, a little luck and even a little skill, we emerged victorious in the night and, comprehensively, in the general round. Beat them at your own game, if you want.
Thomas Tuchel was certainly satisfied, even though at times he seemed frustrated at the bank.
“Very good performance, unbelievable effort, even from the crowd in the stands … we felt that we wanted a lot.
“They tried to press us loudly in the first half, but they opened up some spaces in the back of the midfield and we were able to take advantage of that. In the second half we suffered a few minutes, but we were ready to do whatever was necessary to win. [For example] I tell Kurt Zouma this morning that he plays and gets up. It is about teamwork, courage and reliability of feeling safe with each other.
“[We] knowing if we can’t find solutions with the offensive game we can count on our physical game. We were not afraid to put it on the physical level if we didn’t get offensive solutions. We like the battle. The guys were totally connected and smart, we were really hungry to move on.
“The quarterfinals mean there are only four games – it’s a big step and a great feeling.”
-Thomas Tuchel; source: BT Sport via BBC
A toast to feel good five more times in Europe this season.