It was the kind of tight and fiercely contested encounter that Europe’s top club competition is all about.

We may have had the most possession with 57 per cent and played 549 passes to Porto’s 342, with an impressive overall completion rate of 87 per cent, but that tells just part of the story, as shown by the fact the Portuguese side managed twice as many shots, with 12 to our six.

That being said, it wasn’t just about being more clinical, though, as the chances we created with our more patient approach were also superior to our opponents’, meaning the final score was exactly as the expected goals analysis said it should be.

Blue wall

The expected goals accuracy was helped by a strong performance in defence by Chelsea in Seville, meaning that while Porto had plenty of shots, they mostly came from set-pieces (seven out of 12 shots in total), and four of the remaining five were from outside the penalty area.

It is telling that the player with the highest number of efforts on goal from either side was veteran Porto centre-back Pepe, becoming the oldest player in a Champions League knockout game since Ryan Giggs in 2014, with three attempts, while things were more spread out for the Blues, with all six of our shots coming from different players.

All across the defensive statistics from the game it is the Blues who are on top – more ball recoveries (30), more tackles (12), more interceptions (nine), more shots blocked (four) and more clearances (23).

Another assured Champions League performance from Andreas Christensen played a big part in that, as well as helping us build possession. In addition to winning a game-high of five aerial duels as Porto tried to exploit their height advantage, the Dane also had more touches of the ball than any other player (91) and his 94 per cent passing accuracy was Chelsea’s best.

Credit also goes to experienced campaigner and captain Cesar Azpilicueta, who embodied the stubborn side of our defending by providing three of the four blocks on Porto shots, the other coming from Antonio Rudiger.

The defenders were also helped out by the midfield pair in front of them, with Jorginho’s seven attempted tackles the highest of any player and no other Chelsea man making more than his two interceptions. His partner in the middle of the pitch, Mateo Kovacic, making the 50th Champions League appearance of his career, wasn’t far behind on either front.

It is no surprise then that this was our seventh clean sheet in nine Champions League fixtures this season, with no side having kept the opposition out more times or conceded fewer than our two goals in the competition in 2020/21.

Blossoming Blues

The 2-0 win over Porto could also turn out to be something of a coming of age moment for this Blues side at this level, with Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell both scoring their first-ever Champions League goals in some style. The fact that Mount’s came at the end of a spell of possession lasting over a minute will no doubt also have pleased Thomas Tuchel.

The last time two English players scored in the same Champions League game for Chelsea was in 2012, when John Terry and Frank Lampard both netted in the incredible comeback against Napoli at Stamford Bridge en route to lifting the trophy for the first time.

It highlights the continued excellent form from Mount, too, who has scored more goals than anyone else for the Blues under Tuchel. Despite another mature performance from the midfielder, there was a reminder he is still relatively early in his career, as he is now the youngest person ever to get a goal in a Champions League knockout game for us, at the age of 22 years and 87 days.

That leaves the League Cup as the only competition he has played in but not scored in this season, having already netted in the Premier League and FA Cup for Chelsea, as well as the Nations League and World Cup qualifying for England.

Victory in Porto showed the growing confidence and cohesion of the whole team, though. By winning back-to-back Champions League away knockout games, combined with the 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid in the last round, Tuchel’s players have now achieved something no Blues side has managed since Claudio Ranieri took us to the semi-finals back in 2004.

It is also the 13th time in our history we have won the first leg of a UEFA two-legged tie. We have progressed to the next round on every previous occasion.