Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Chelsea, Champions League, Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Chelsea, Champions League, Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga
Chelsea are the first team to beat Borussia Dortmund since they suffered a shock defeat to the Vietnam national team in November last year.
The Blues overturned a one-goal deficit on Tuesday night to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, as goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz helped them remain in Europe's elite club competition.
It was a much-needed win for the Premier League outfit, who have struggled in large parts this season, despite showing real ambition in the transfer market.
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Graham Potter's men can hold their heads high considering they managed to beat one of Europe's most in-form sides.
Ahead of Tuesday's fixture, Edin Terzic's side were on an 11-game winning streak that featured triumphs over Bayer Leverkusen, Werder Bremen and, of course, Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash.
In fact, you had to go all the way back to November 30, 2022 to revisit their last defeat – a surprise 2-1 loss to international side Vietnam.
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Dortmund were keen to give those who didn't get picked for the World Cup minutes, so they organised friendlies against Lion City Sailors and Johor Darul Ta’zim throughout November.
They managed to beat their first two opponents during a three-game tour of Asia, but a late penalty from Phạm Tuấn Hải at the Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Hanoi sealed a historic win for Vietnam, who are ranked 96 in the world by FIFA.
In his post-match interview following their defeat to Chelsea on Tuesday night, Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic tried to explain their loss to the Premier League side.
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“I am responsible for the performance of our team," he told BT Sport. “I don’t want to talk about the referee. I thought it was a tight call and a tight decision.
“I think the first ten minutes, you can feel the power not just from Chelsea but from the stadium.”
He added, “After that, we came back into the game, but they managed to score and we did not.”
“We had a clear chance through Bellingham and only had a couple of counter-attacks to defend. We did not create much later and that is the problem.”
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Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for Chelsea after converting from close range just before the break.
And the hosts doubled their lead in controversial fashion when Kai Havertz slotted home a penalty in the 53rd minute.
Marius Wolf was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box following a VAR review and referee Danny Makkelie pointed to the spot.
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Havertz wasn't able to take advantage as he hit the post but the penalty was retaken after Dortmund players were adjudged to have encroached.
He made no mistake the second time around, sending Alexander Meyer the wrong way to make it 2-0 on the night.