Recalled Zouma praised for Chelsea impact

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Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says his team put in an “unbelievable” defensive effort as they eased past Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge to set a first Champions League quarter final in seven years.

The Blues – leading 1-0 after the first leg – kept an 11th clean sheet in 13 games under Tuchel as they sealed an 3-0 aggregate win,



Tuchel’s side went ahead through Hakim Ziyech’s side-footed finish from Timo Werner’s pass in the first half and Emerson scored a second breakaway goal in the 94th minute.

Tuchel, however, was quick to praise the defensive display at Stamford Bridge – and had a special mention for Kurt Zouma, who came in at short notice to replace Andreas Christensen.

“We missed Andreas, who got ill overnight, and we missed Thiago for many weeks,” Tuchel said. “They are big personalities with big quality.

“But Zou steps up – we told him this morning he would play – and he gives us a performance like this.”

Chelsea are yet to lose in 13 matches in all competitions under Tuchel, winning nine. And they are yet to concede a goal in six home games under him, with 11 clean sheets.

The collective team effort also greatly impressed the German head coach.

“Defensive work is about teamwork and courage but also about reliability that they can feel safe around each other,” Tuchel added. “This is what it takes, plus a good goalkeeper and bit of luck.

“It was a very good performance – an unbelievable team effort from the guys on the pitch, the bench and even the guys in the stands.

“We could feel we totally wanted it. It was a big win.

“They tried to press us very high but it opened up space in midfield and we could exploit it. We scored a fantastic goal and it gave us a lot of confidence but we had chances to score a second goal.

“This was another top performance with a deserved win. They are a tough team to play but so are we. We enjoyed the battle we were super hungry to go through.”

The draw for the quarter-finals takes place on Friday from 1100 GMT.