Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel set a new club record after guiding the Blues to back-to-back wins over Atletico Madrid in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie. The 47-year-old German coach oversaw a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday as the Blues booked a spot in the quarter-final with a 3-0 aggregate win over their Spanish opponent.
In the highly-engaging affair which had a fair share of controversies emerging, Chelsea took the lead through Hakim Ziyech inside the 34th minute before substitute Emerson Palmeiri scored with his first touch in the 94th minute to secure the win. In-between, Atletico's Stefan Savic was sent off after elbowing Antonio Rudiger in a brief scruffle ahead of a cornerkick that went in favor of his side.
For manager Thomas Tuchel, the night's win meant that his side is unbeaten in their 13 games across all competitions since he took over. As a result, the former Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund boss became the manager with the longest-ever unbeaten start in the Blues' history. They have recorded nine wins, four draws and 11 cleansheets within the period.
4 - For the first time in the history of the @ChampionsLeague, four managers from the same country have reached the quarter-finals: Edin Terzic (@BlackYellow), Jürgen Klopp (@LFC), Thomas Tuchel (@ChelseaFC) and Hansi Flick (@FCBayernEN). Germans.#UCL pic.twitter.com/nTYAhQEytm
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 17, 2021
With the night's result, Chelsea successfully kept their run of never being eliminated from a two-legged European tie after winning the first leg away from home intact. The Blues have so far progressed from all 13 such ties. They also became the first English club since Bolton Wanderers in 2008 to eliminate Atletico Madrid from the knockout stage of a major European competition.
