Perhaps this will be remembered as the point at which Chelsea manager Graham Potter began to turn the tide.
The strategist arrived at yesterday’s game against Borussia Dortmund surrounded by doubts about his future. He now has his team in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Kai Havertz catapulted Chelsea into the top eight, taking the pressure off Potter.
A penalty taken twice by the German team secured the London side’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at Stamford Bridge.
Under the watchful eye of co-owner Todd Boehly, a celebration seldom seen during a gray campaign broke out. Chelsea advanced 2-1 on aggregate, after losing 1-0 in the first leg of the round of 16 in Germany last month.
Benfica also got into the quarterfinals, but in a much more comfortable way, after beating Club Brugge 5-1. The global was 7-1.
“We’ve been through a tough period, and this competition means a lot to us,” Potter said. “We wanted to advance to the round of the last eight, and this encourages us for the next few weeks.”
There were certainly positives for Potter after the most important victory in his fledgling tenure. His team not only showed character to recover from the setback in the first leg, but he did it by scoring two goals in a duel, something he had not achieved in 2023.
Raheem Sterling put the 2021 European champions ahead 43 minutes into the second leg, taking advantage of a Ben Chilwell cross.
Havertz had already shaken a post in the first half. A play in which he appeared to score was ruled offside.
And he thought he had missed another opportunity, crashing his shot from 11 steps into a post after Marius Wolf handled a ball with his hand in the box.
However, the shot was ordered to be taken again, as the VAR detected that the players had invaded the area before they should.
Havertz, whose goal clinched Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester City in the final two years ago, put the ball back on the spot. Coolly, he converted on his second chance at 53.
“I don’t know what I was thinking, but the referee allowed me to take the penalty again,” Havertz said. “I was a little nervous, but I scored. I tried to wait and watch the goalie. The second one was a little easier.
Potter admitted that he was unable to observe the second penalty.
A stretch of 12 games in which he had achieved just two wins raised more doubts about his future. And the elimination of the “Champions” would have generated more criticism about his management.
Editing: Laura Espejo
