Chelsea tops Atletico in Champions League with Giroud’s bicycle-kick purpose

After his nice overhead kick discovered the web to interrupt the impasse in a tough match, all Olivier Giroud might do was wait.
And wait and wait.
Giroud’s 68th-minute bicycle-kick purpose towards Atlético Madrid was initially disallowed for offside and it took practically three minutes for video evaluate to reverse the decision and safe Chelsea the 1-0 away win within the first leg of the spherical of 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Giroud was clearly in entrance of the defenders when he pulled off his acrobatic shot and few Chelsea gamers complained when the linesman raised his flag, however VAR decided that the ball got here from Atlético defender Mario Hermoso as a substitute of Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount, thus annulling the offside.
“I did not know what to think about the goal, I just focused on hitting the overhead kick and was pleased to see it go in the back of the net, I had no clue about being offside,” Giroud mentioned. “Mason Mount said he did not touch the ball. Good for the team, good for me.”
The consequence stored Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel unbeaten in eight matches since he took over the squad to interchange Frank Lampard.
“Fantastic result, fantastic goal. Well deserved,” Tuchel mentioned. “It was a very disciplined performance — a deserved shutout.”
Atlético was the house workforce however the match was performed in Bucharest, Romania, due to journey restrictions stopping guests from Britain coming into Spain.
The second leg shall be on March 17 in London.
In the opposite round-of-16 match on Tuesday, Bayern Munich defeated Lazio 4-1 in Italy.

It was the second consecutive loss for Atlético after a seven-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. It was additionally the eighth straight sport wherein the Spanish membership has conceded a purpose, extending its worst run with out a clear sheet since coach Diego Simeone arrived in late 2011.
“It’s been a difficult week but we have to keep competing,” Atlético midfielder Koke Resurrección mentioned. “We have to raise our heads and try to win the second leg. There’s no other option for us.”
It had been a lackluster match till Giroud’s purpose, with neither workforce managing to create many important scoring alternatives and with the goalkeepers not having to work too onerous. Chelsea managed possession and seemed a bit extra harmful, however either side gave the impression to be glad with the scoreless draw and didn’t take too many dangers.
“We knew they were ready to suffer with eight people in the box,” Tuchel mentioned. “The intention was to keep the intensity high. This is what we did very good. We never let them breathe or come out for counter-attacks. We have a big reward with this result. This is one of the toughest challenges to open a defense like (Atlético’s).”
Atlético was outshot by Chelsea and completed the match with no makes an attempt on track.
“We know the importance of the away goal in Europe so that is why I was pleased to help the team win the game,” Giroud mentioned. “We managed it well and we were confident but faced a great team and I think we were very committed and knew their main strengths. We dealt with it, but we have to stay focused and complete the job.”
Hermoso was attempting to clear the ball from the world whereas below strain from Mount and kicked it backward. Giroud reached up excessive together with his left foot to ship the ball towards the nook previous Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
“The game was decide on details,” Koke mentioned. “It didn’t look like a dangerous play but they ended scoring a great goal.”
Mount and Jorginho had been proven yellow playing cards and can miss the second leg due to accumulation of playing cards.
Simeone needed to improvise with midfielder Marcos Llorente for granted again towards Chelsea due to a number of absences on protection, together with Kieran Trippier following an English betting investigation.
The groups had performed within the group stage of the Champions League within the 2017-18 season, with Chelsea successful 2-1 in Spain earlier than a 1-1 attract London. Atlético eradicated Chelsea within the semifinals in 2014.
It was in Bucharest that Simeone gained his first title with Atlético, the 2012 Europa League.