Chelsea overturned their deficit from the first leg against Borussia Dortmund with a 2-0 victory on a special UEFA Champions League (UCL) night at Stamford Bridge, winning 2-1 on aggregate to secure their place in the quarter-final.
The visitors lost Julian Brandt just five minutes into proceedings having already experienced a 10-minute delay to kick-off to a hamstring injury.
Chelsea looked lively in the opening exchanges, although Kalidou Koulibaly and Kai Havertz both missed the target before Die Schwarzgelben’s influence on the pitch grew, with Marco Reus’ free-kick forcing a superb save from Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Raheem Sterling smashed home a volley from the top of the six-yard box just before half-time and Kai Havertz scored from the penalty spot early in the second half to send Graham Potter’s struggling Chelsea past Dortmund in the round of 16.
Sterling recovered from a miskick to work space in the box and emphatically smash his strike past Alexander Meyer to level the tie with his first goal since New Year’s Day.
Havertz doubled Chelsea’s lead from the spot but needed two chances to do it. The Germany international bounced his first penalty off the post, but Dortmund was called for encroachment and Havertz stepped up and buried his second try to put Chelsea up 2-0 on the night.
Sterling was caught marginally offside again before teeing up Conor Gallagher, relentless BVB pressure, and the game stretching past its allotted six minutes of added time.
Chelsea held out to secure back-to-back wins for the first time since October. Meanwhile, Dortmund failed to win for the first time in 2023 and were knocked out after their sixth consecutive loss in England.
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