Chelsea 0-1 Porto: Match Statistics
They weren't 90 minutes to remember from Chelsea but the outcome was something to savour.
Thanks to Tuesday night's dour 1-0 defeat to Porto, the Blues have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in seven years courtesy of a 2-1 aggregate win.
That represents a sweet success for a club that had grown too accustomed to being knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage – or worse, having to compete in the Europa League.
Now, they are inching closer back to the summit of European football and can allow themselves to dream of getting there this season. They'll certainly take some stopping.
Their performance in their 'home' leg at Sevilla's Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium showcased precisely why Thomas Tuchel's side are so awkward to play against.
They were alert to Porto's transitions and aggressive at defending in and around their box. They were dogged throughout, meaning their progression never looked in doubt, despite Porto's last-minute goal.
For some sides, losing Mateo Kovacic through a minor injury ahead of kick-off, along with Andreas Christensen, would have been a major problem.
Yet such is the depth of quality in this Chelsea squad, they were able to draft world-class players such as Thiago Silva and N'Golo Kante into their starting line-up.
As they keep proving in challenging times such as these, with the pandemic removing fans from grounds and increasing injuries through a congested fixture list, Chelsea are well-equipped to deal with any obstacle.
Of course, they were always favourites to reach the last four on account of their superior resources but they were going up against a Porto side that showed no shortage of quality and character in battling their way to a shock win over Juventus in the round of 16.
However, whereas Porto caused Chelsea plenty of problems during the first half of the first leg last week, Tuchel's team were far more comfortable this time around.
Who would have predicted that at the start of the 2020-21 campaign, given so many of Chelsea's players are still finding their feet at this level?
Remember, only Kovacic has won the competition before, though Thiago Silva went agonisingly close to lifting the trophy with Paris Saint-Germain last season.
Of course, Chelsea splashed the cash last summer, spending £220 million ($275m) strengthening their squad, but there's no doubt that they are ahead of schedule in their bid to win a second Champions League, particularly when one considers how poorly they had been performing before Tuchel's appointment in January.
Porto understandably made much of the difference in riches between the two sides and they had a point, but that's what it takes to compete at this level.
And Roman Abramovich knows that, which is why he's pumping money back into the first team once again in the hope of replicating that epic triumph over Bayern Munich in 2012.
The Russian's ruthless pursuit of success was also responsible for his decision to ditch club legend Lampard and bring in Tuchel, who, like his boss, is a determined character desperate for success.
"I am here to win games and as a result, win titles," Tuchel said ahead of kick-off in Seville. "This is what I demand of myself, so why should we now say anything different?
"If you want to win in five years or three years, I don’t know what that is."
This is a man in a rush. He wants to lift trophies as soon as possible, and by any means possible. He's just looking to find a way to win, and even in defeat on Tuesday night, they managed to do exactly that.
Chelsea's performance against Porto may have been ugly but, because of Tuchel, the end of the season really could be beautiful.
