Midfield masterclass

Just like the first leg in Bucharest, the Blues dominated possession against Atletico and enjoyed control of the game for long spells, thanks in no small part to the relentless work of N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in midfield.

The duo accounted for over 15 per cent of possession between them, with only Cesar Azpilicueta recording more touches.

What they did with the ball was more significant, using it sensibly in the second half to manage the game once our 2-0 aggregate lead had been established courtesy of Hakim Ziyech’s opener, while also taking risks at the right time to break lines and initiate attacking moves.

Kovacic completed 92 per cent of his attempted passes and Kante 88 per cent; only Reece James finished the game with a better rate (94 per cent).

It wasn’t just passing the ball but also dribbling with it that caused Atleti countless problems. The pair attempted 14 take-ons between them (seven apiece) and were successful with nine of those, again highlighting how we broke through Diego Simeone’s famously robust defensive setup to create chances in the final third.

Out of possession, they covered ground and worked tirelessly to retrieve possession. The perception of Kante being everywhere is simply a result of his world-class awareness and reading of the game, intelligence combined with industry. No player has recorded more than the Frenchman’s 13 ball recoveries for the Blues in the Champions League since he did similar against Barcelona three years ago.

Attacking with pace and precision

Ziyech’s 34th-minute strike doubled our aggregate lead and brought back memories of some other incisive counter-attacking goals at the Bridge on big European nights, namely Eidur Gudjohnsen in 2005 and Didier Drogba in 2012, both against Barcelona.

It was a move crafted at Cobham and delivered by design, justifying Thomas Tuchel’s decision to go with Timo Werner up front in the expectation that Atletico would play a higher defensive line, leaving space in behind. Werner’s run was the right one down the left channel and his pass was perfect for Ziyech to roll the ball underneath Jan Oblak.

Our second was a similarly devastating break from back to front within seconds, Christian Pulisic this time providing the spark as he carried the ball from the edge of one box to the other before teeing up Emerson Palmieri.

Also charging forward to offer support to the right of Pulisic was that man Kante, who might have notched the goal his all-action performance deserved had the American opted to play him in.

The average positions graphic below indicates how perfectly the players carried out Tuchel’s game plan, with wing-backs Marcos Alonso and James pushed high and wide, while the front three rotated in small central pockets. Our threats came from everywhere, evidenced by the fact we had 27 shots to Atletico’s 16 over the two legs and 10 on target to the Spanish side’s four.

Clean sheets keep on coming

That’s 11 shutouts in 13 games under Tuchel, only two goals conceded in 1,170 minutes, which means Chelsea’s goalkeeper is picking the ball out of the back of his net roughly once every 10 hours!

With Andreas Christensen ill overnight, Kurt Zouma stepped up and delivered an impressive performance in the middle of our back three. The 26-year-old won five aerial duels and made five clearances as Atletico asked questions through Luis Suarez and Joao Felix up front.

When our defence was breached, Edouard Mendy did his job expertly, making four saves in total, including an impressive one from close range to deny Joao Felix late on. Our Senegalese stopper has conceded just once in seven matches in the Champions League this season, against his former club Rennes in the group stage. He also now has 20 clean sheets since joining the club, two more than his 18 goals conceded.

Other stats of interest

Chelsea are now 13 games unbeaten at the start of Tuchel's reign as manager, the longest such run of any boss to start their time at the club.

He is also one of four German managers through to this season's Champions League quarter-finals, the first time in the competition's history that has happened.

This was just the second time the Blues have won both legs of a Champions League knockout tie. The only other occasion was against Benfica on the way to lifting the trophy in 2012.