Chelsea three things to look for against Porto: A foot in, but a foot out
By Travis Tyler
Chelsea has one foot into a Champions League semifinal, and that’s the only foot they should consider in it. Porto will come to play. The Blues must be ready. The reverse fixture ended 2-0 for Chelsea on “away” goals, but Porto gave that score line a run for its money. Given this reverse fixture will be at the same stadium and Porto will need to score to advance, Chelsea will have to weather a storm. The Blues would much rather be where they are than where Porto is going into the second leg, but no assumptions should be made about the next round. What should fans look for in this one?
1. A “Champion’s” performance?
It has been a bit of a roller coaster few days since the international break ended. Chelsea lost to West Brom in embarrassing fashion. They then got pelted a bit by Porto but came out ahead when they had to. That was followed up with a near perfect beat down of Crystal Palace. Chelsea’s reaction game to game has improved, but a repeat of the Crystal Palace performance would go a long way.
No offense to Porto who showed their place in this round is deserved, but they are the remaining minnow of the competition. Every single fanbase has to be honest and say the majority wanted Porto over all other opponents. Every other team was expected to be favorites in a two legged tied against Porto. Those are simply the facts whether they deserve to be in this round or not.
Chelsea’s 2-0 win in the “away” fixture was thoroughly professional. It was a job done which is all that is required in the Champions League. But it would go a long ways for the Blues to step away from a professional performance and put in a true Champion’s performance. Something to really make the remaining teams stand up and take notice that Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea isn’t on a new manager bounce, but is legitimate.
At the end of the day, getting through to the next round is getting through to the next round. But doing so while putting the remainder on notice could go a long ways towards winning the psychological battles of matches to hopefully come.