we ain't got no history 
18-04-2024 02:56
18-04-2024 02:56
Ian Maatsen, Antonio Rüdiger take center stage in Champions League quarterfinals
We’re in the middle of an (at least) 24-month Europe-less barren run in modern Chelsea history, but thankfully, there’s been some drama to entertain us this midweek, with a few of our former players, and one loanee taking center stage in the Champions League.
The one loanee is of course Ian Maatsen, who scored in Borussia Dortmund’s thrilling 4-2 victory over Atlético Madrid yesterday (Wednesday), which secured their place in the semifinal. Dortmund had trailed 2-1 from last week’s first leg in Madrid, where Maatsen had been at fault for one Atlético’s early goals as the hosts built a two-goal lead. But a late strike from Sebastian Haller meant that BVB had only the slimmest of margins to overturn, at it would be Maatsen himself, who’d score the goal to complete the comeback on aggregate.
Except that was far from the last bit of drama in the tie. With Dortmund now ahead 4-3 on aggregate, it would be Atlético who would score the next two goals to take a 5-4 lead! But then a two-goal spurt in three minutes halfway through the second half restored Dortmund’s lead, and they would not give that up this time!
Heartbreak for Atléti (and César Azpilicueta and Álvaro Morata and Saúl Ñíguez). Jubilation for BVB! What an amazing game this was!
After the game, Maatsen had a brief chat with CBS Sports, where he briefly touched on his whole Chelsea situation (revealing nothing new). In Wednesday’s other game, PSG completed an hilarious comeback against Barcelona (and Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso) at Camp Nou, which saw Barca take an early lead, have a man sent off for a silly foul (and later also their manager, Xavi), and then PSG score four times to advance and leave the home side quite salty indeed.
For those of us who were alive for 2009, this was perhaps a teeny-tiny bit of schadenfreude to enjoy. Thursday’s action wasn’t nearly as much of a goalfest, but there was drama nonetheless, with our pal Thomas Tuchel ousting Arsenal (and Kai Havertz and Jorginho) on the back of a classic 1-0 win... ...and Manchester City losing at home to (Carlo Ancelotti’s) Real Madrid in a penalty kick shootout — and they didn’t even need Kepa Arrizabalaga to do so. He’s firm second-choice to Andrei Lunin these days, and ever unlikely to stay beyond this season.
The man to take Real’s winning penalty? Antonio Rüdiger of course. Man like Toni! Immense all game; all season. (Kovačić failed to convert his for City.)
With Dortmund playing PSG and Real squaring off against Bayern in the semifinals, we’re guaranteed to have some ex-Chelsea representation in the Champions League final.
The one loanee is of course Ian Maatsen, who scored in Borussia Dortmund’s thrilling 4-2 victory over Atlético Madrid yesterday (Wednesday), which secured their place in the semifinal. Dortmund had trailed 2-1 from last week’s first leg in Madrid, where Maatsen had been at fault for one Atlético’s early goals as the hosts built a two-goal lead. But a late strike from Sebastian Haller meant that BVB had only the slimmest of margins to overturn, at it would be Maatsen himself, who’d score the goal to complete the comeback on aggregate.
Except that was far from the last bit of drama in the tie. With Dortmund now ahead 4-3 on aggregate, it would be Atlético who would score the next two goals to take a 5-4 lead! But then a two-goal spurt in three minutes halfway through the second half restored Dortmund’s lead, and they would not give that up this time!
Heartbreak for Atléti (and César Azpilicueta and Álvaro Morata and Saúl Ñíguez). Jubilation for BVB! What an amazing game this was!
After the game, Maatsen had a brief chat with CBS Sports, where he briefly touched on his whole Chelsea situation (revealing nothing new). In Wednesday’s other game, PSG completed an hilarious comeback against Barcelona (and Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso) at Camp Nou, which saw Barca take an early lead, have a man sent off for a silly foul (and later also their manager, Xavi), and then PSG score four times to advance and leave the home side quite salty indeed.
For those of us who were alive for 2009, this was perhaps a teeny-tiny bit of schadenfreude to enjoy. Thursday’s action wasn’t nearly as much of a goalfest, but there was drama nonetheless, with our pal Thomas Tuchel ousting Arsenal (and Kai Havertz and Jorginho) on the back of a classic 1-0 win... ...and Manchester City losing at home to (Carlo Ancelotti’s) Real Madrid in a penalty kick shootout — and they didn’t even need Kepa Arrizabalaga to do so. He’s firm second-choice to Andrei Lunin these days, and ever unlikely to stay beyond this season.
The man to take Real’s winning penalty? Antonio Rüdiger of course. Man like Toni! Immense all game; all season. (Kovačić failed to convert his for City.)
With Dortmund playing PSG and Real squaring off against Bayern in the semifinals, we’re guaranteed to have some ex-Chelsea representation in the Champions League final.