Europe: Chelsea made it to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League after more than six years. They beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 in the second leg on Wednesday to give coach Thomas Tuchel’s team the win.
Hakim Ziyech and Emerson Palmieri each won the Blues once, reaching the eighth of the competition for the first time since 2014.
Ziyech’s goal after 34 minutes against Atletico Madrid was scored 1-0 in the first leg of Chelsea and Emerson Palmieri closed the scoring in a 3-0 win.
The visitors ended the game with 10 men after Stefan Savic was shown a red card in the 82nd minute for elbowing Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger in the chest in the corner.
The win has left Chelsea undefeated in 13 games since Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard as coach in January. He introduced a defense defense that allowed only two goals under Germany, who led Paris St Germain to last year’s final.
“This is another high-profile game with the right win,” Tuchel told BT Sport despite admitting he was “shocked” by the intimidation of the fans.
“They tried to press very high in the first half but they opened up some gaps in the back of the stomach and we could use it and get a good goal. It gave us a lot of confidence,” he said.
The defending champions Bayern Munich finished Lazio with a 6-2 win. After beating them 2-1 at their home ground in the Allianz Arena, they advanced to the playoffs on Wednesday.
Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for Bayern in the 33rd minute with a lead of 4-1 in the first leg in Rome. His 39th goal of the season in all competitions shattered Lazio’s hopes.
The German champions removed their feet before replacing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to add a second goal in the 73rd minute. Marco Parolo led the consolation at the end of Lazio.
“It was important to me that we won the game. Lazio defended well but I think the win was worth it,” said Bayern coach Hansi Flick.
Bayern have joined German side Borussia Dortmund in the last eight games. Lazio’s departure means no Italian team will reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with Juventus and Atalanta also out of the last 16.
