Luck finally seems to be on the side of Graham Potter and Chelsea after they knocked Borussia Dortmund out of the Champions League with a 2-1 aggregate victory. Under the lights at Stamford Bridge, the Blues were faced with the task of overcoming a one-goal deficit from the first leg that by 10:05pm on Tuesday evening they had passed with flying colours.
Goals either side of half time from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz saw Chelsea progress into the quarter-finals overturning Karim Adeyemi's first leg strike. A few weeks ago it certainly would have been presumed that Chelsea would be the team to be greatly affected by injuries for the tie, but as it turned out Dortmund were the team to suffer more injury blows.
Firstly, Adeyemi picked up a hamstring injury in February that led to him missing the game, while No.1 goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was left out of the starting XI with a knock that also resulted in Alexander Meyer starting the weekend's Bundesliga win against RB Leipzig.
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Less than five minutes into the clash things got worse for Edin Terzic as Julian Brandt collapsed to the floor clutching his hamstring. The German international looked to already have some strapping around the area and Dortmund therefore took no chances with Giovanni Reyna replacing him promptly.
Previously injured stars such as Raheem Sterling and Wesley Fofana ended up playing key roles in the victory. Ben Chilwell and Reece James also showed signs of their best form after the pair have had to deal with significant injuries plaguing their last few campaigns.
With Christian Pulisic returning to the fold last night, just four players are now out with injuries in west London. Armando Broja and N'Golo Kante have been with long-term issues, although the latter is getting closer to a return.
Meanwhile Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva have picked up recent injuries to keep them out of the team. Azpilicueta is serving concussion protocol after suffering a nasty head injury against Southampton, while Silva is recovering from a knee injury, however that did not stop the defender being very animated in the stands.
As captured on Belle Silva's Instagram, the Brazil international's wife, Silva struggled to not show his clear emotions throughout the game although he mildly celebrated Havertz's penalty while looking on nervously.
In the latter stages of the game, Silva was far from pleased at Jude Bellingham's cynical foul on James, with a Reddit user translating exactly what the veteran defender said. In the video from Belle Silva's Instagram, the former Paris Saint-Germain star said: “Son of a ****, not my full-back for the love of god, red card!”
His full time whistle celebrations were also filmed as he let it out a cry of relief with two arms in the air. While he looks set to remain sidelined for the next few weeks at least, Silva will certainly be doing his best to support his teammates from the stands.
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