Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund result, highlights & analysis as Blues book spot in Champions League quarterfinals

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Dan Gibbs
• 19 min read
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STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON — Chelsea scored two goals in a game for the first time in 2023 to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League and overturn their 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund from the first leg.

Goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz secured a 2-0 win on the night and helps ease the pressure on under-fire Graham Potter by keeping their quest for silverware, in what's been a poor domestic season, alive.

Chelsea came out the blocks quickest with plenty of chances early on with a packed Stamford Bridge roaring their team on to find an early goal. Sterling, Havertz and Joao Felix all looked lively from the off with stand-in goalkeeper Alexander Meyer given an early indication he'd be in for a busy night.

The first real chance of the game came from Dortmund though, as Marco Reus forced Kepa Arrizabalaga into a stunning one-handed save from a free-kick that looked destined to hit the back of the net from 25 yards.

Prior to tonight's encounter, Havertz had failed to score in all eight of his appearances vs Dortmund — his worst record against any club over his career —  and when he struck the inside of the post from a first-time effort on the edge of the box on 28 minutes he must have felt that run was set to continue. 10 minutes later he did have the ball in the back of the net, this time an exquisite, curled effort that looped over Meyer, only for Sterling to be ruled offside in the lead up. How's your luck?

But the Blues finally got the breakthrough, and themselves back in the tie, before half-time after Sterling, who initially fluffed his shot with the left foot from a low cross from the left flank, regained his composure and hammered it home with his right from close range.

Havertz might have thought his bad luck had run out when he was given the opportunity to convert a penalty shortly after the restart. A VAR check ensured the Blues were awarded a penalty after Marius Wolf handled from Ben Chilwell's cross at point-blank range. However, the German's penalty struck the post. Luckily for him, there was encroachment into the box behind him and he was allowed a retake. This time, he made no mistake and slotted it the other side of the post to end his torrid run against Dortmund.

Chelsea would again have the ball in the net late on as Conor Gallagher tapped into an empty goal but Sterling was ruled offside again in the build up as Potter made sensible substitutions to see the game out.

Dortmund gave it one final push in the last moments but Chelsea stood tall and closed out the match to book their spot in the quarterfinals. 

MORE: When is Champions League quarterfinal draw 2023? Fixtures, schedule, teams qualified and rules for last eight

Kai Havertz ends terrible record vs Dortmund

Havertz was a man on a mission in west London this evening, seemingly determined to end his run of eight games without a goal against Dortmund. 

An early effort blazed over in the opening 10 minutes won't have helped those nerves but the 2021 Champions League final scorer didn't let it affect him as he grew into the game. He attempted five shots in Chelsea’s match — the most he’s managed in a single game this season.

Having struck the post twice, including his first penalty effort, he could have been forgiven for thinking tonight was not going to be his night. Yet he showed guts to stick with his stutter run-up and go the same side from his retake to finally end that run. Had he missed, the Chelsea crowd were ready to erupt on him.

"I don't know what I was thinking [when it hit the post] but the referee let me retake the penalty. I was a bit nervous but I scored," said Havertz. "I tried to wait and look at the keeper and the second one was a bit easier."

What is Raheem Sterling's Champions League goals record?

"His goalscoring record in the Champions League speaks for itself," said Potter before tonight's match. "He's a proven campaigner in that competition."

Correct. He now has three goals in Europe for the Blues this season — building on his record of 24 goals in 67 Champions League games for former club Manchester City. Sterling's 27 Champions League goals is the second-most of any English player in competition history.

"I had a little miskick with the first touch but it landed perfectly and allowed us to build on that for our performance," Sterling said on his goal. The England international is a joy to watch when playing at his best and tormenting defenders with his pace and trickery, yet when it doesn't go his way he can became an easy target for fans to  direct their frustrations.

Having fluffed his lines in the opening two minutes by taking too long to get a shot off and strayed offside several times throughout, Potter could easily have hooked him. But, credit to Potter, he stuck with him and he had a huge say in the outcome of the result.

Can Chelsea win the Champions League?

Well, Chelsea's win tonight was only their fourth since the World Cup. Dortmund join the mighty list of Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Leeds as teams they've scalped.

Out of both domestic cups and 10th in the Premier League, Potter's only chance of silverware comes in Europe. While he'll play his strongest team and go for glory in the Champions League, it will be interesting to see how he balances that with keeping their slim hopes of a top-four finish alive.

But Chelsea are seemingly a different beast in the Champions League. Heading into tonight, Dortmund were looking for an 11th consecutive victory in all competitions, while Chelsea were hoping to record back-to-back wins for the first time since October! They've won five of their eight Champions League matches this term.

Everything went Chelsea's way this evening and while Potter is finding his feet in the Champions League, the club are two-time winners and that experience and history will carry for plenty in the business end of the competition.

Chelsea have now progressed from five UCL knockout stage ties after losing the first leg — the joint most of any team (Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid have also achieved that feat) — but no team will want to draw them in the next round given their European form.

The Blues can now look forward to learning their quarterfinal opponent when the draw is made on March 17.

MORE: Champions League winners odds 2023

The Sporting News was following the match live and providing live score updates, commentary.

Chelsea starting XI (3-4-3): Kepa (GK) — Fofana, Koulibaly Cucurella — James, Kovacic (83' Loftus-Cheek), Fernandez, Chillwell — Sterling (83' Pulisic), Havertz, Felix (67' Gallagher)

Dortmund starting XI (4-1-4-1): Meyer (GK) — Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro — Can — Brandt (5' Reyna), Bellingham, Ozcan (63' Bynoe-Gittens), Reus — Haller (77' Malen)

Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund final score

  1H 2H Final
Chelsea 1 1 2
Borussia Dortmund  0 0 0

Final aggregate score: Chelsea 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Goals:

CHE — Sterling (43rd min)

CHE — Havertz (52nd min)

Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund live updates, highlights from Champions League

FULL-TIME: Chelsea 2-0 Borussia Dortmund (Agg 2-1)

Stamford Bridge erupts as the final whistle goes. Potter's side go marching on in Europe with a memorable performance against the German side! The Blues are into the Champions League quarterfinals! 

90th min +4: Dortmund have a corner in front of their bouncing fans. Even the keeper has come up. A tame, deflected shot eventually lands in Arrizabalaga's hands. Chelsea are nearly there. Down the other end Cucurella goes into the book.

90th min +1: Bit of a scrap in the corner sees the players have to be separated. Chilwell comes out of it with a yellow card.

Six added minutes.

89th min: Every outfield Dortmund player is in Chelsea's final third right now. A ball is lofted into the box and Bellingham rises highest but his header goes way over.

87th min: Dortmund are winning a few free-kicks but any balls into the box are being easily dealt with. Chelsea happy to just boot it away and invite pressure. 

Zakaria is on for Fernandez.

83rd min: Pulsiic and Loftus-Cheek are introduced for Sterling and Kovacic. Both players get a round of applause from the home crowd for their efforts. Potter just wanting some fresh legs to hold out here.

77th min: Malen comes on for Haller. Fernandez then gets a yellow for a rash tackle shortly after.

76th min: OFFSIDE! Sterling races through behind the Dortmund defence and unselfishly crosses for Gallagher to tap into an empty net but the former was just offside. Another warning for Dortmund.

74th min: Remember there is no away goals rule applied in the Champions League so as it stands Chelsea are heading through. Should Dortmund score, we go to extra-time if scores remain level on aggregate.

71st min: Gallagher gets forward and wins a corner but it's easily dealt with. Dortmund have been putting on the pressure in the last few minutes. Chelsea are far from home and dry yet.

67th min: Potter makes his first change as Gallagher replaces Felix.

65th min: Kepa makes a smart save from Wolf's shot from a tight angle. The goalkeeper is later booked for time wasting.

63rd min: Change for Dortmund as Oscar is taken off for Bynoe-Gitten, who was once on Chelsea's books.

58th min: Chance for Bellingham but after a goalmouth scramble in the six-yard box he pokes his shot just wide. Chilwell initially blocked Haller's effort.

52nd min: GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Borussia Dortmund

Havertz takes it again, he stutters again, he puts it in the same bottom right corner again... and this time it's inside the post! 

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50th min: PENALTY MISSED! Havertz stutters his run up but his shot strikes the right post. However, encroachment in the box means he gets another go. Incredible!

47th min: An early penalty check for Chelsea! The referee initially waves play on after Chilwell's shot appeared to strike the arm of Wolf. The referee goes over to the VAR screen to check and GIVES the penalty. Wolf's arm was slightly away from his body but he's looking away when the ball his directed his way from about two yards. Tough one.

Back underway!

HALF-TIME: Chelsea 1-0 Borussia Dortmund

45th min: Late chance for Dortmund just before the half but Chilwell makes a heroic block just as Haller was about to pull the trigger in the box.

43rd min: GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Borussia Dortmund

Sterling gives Chelsea the lead! After initially fluffing his shot with the left foot from a low cross from the left flank, he regains his composure and hammers it home with his right from close range. He hit that HARD.

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41st min: Sule picks up a yellow card for seemingly taking too long to take a free-kick in the centre circle.

38th min: OFFSIDE! Havertz has the ball in the back of the net with a stunning, perfectly placed curled shot from the edge of the box, but in the build up, Sterling who had an initial shot well saved, is ruled offside. It was an extremely tight call! Havertz looks gutted as that effort deserved to give his team the lead.

35th min: Felix finds a pocket of space in the middle of the pitch but his shot from distance goes out for a corner. Chilwell goes over to take it in front of the Dortmund fans and doesn't exactly get the warmest of receptions. The corner comes to nothing.

32nd min: More patient build up play from Chelsea eventually ends with Kovacic having a wild hit on the volley from the edge of the box but it sails high and wide.

28th min: Havertz hits the post! James puts in a dangerous cross which is cleared, but the clearance falls to Havertz arriving on the edge of the box, and his first-time effort with his left foot strikes the inside of the post. So close!

25th min: Reyna finds space down the right wing into the box and drills a dangerous low cross across the box but no teammate is there to convert a tap in!

23rd min: Cucurella won't be too far off getting a booking. He's been a bit too eager at times with two fouls with the referee already having a word.

17th min: Dangerous free-kick from 25 yards out from Reus forces a stunning one-handed save from Arrizabalaga. Brilliant athleticism from the Spaniard.

13th min: Plenty of play down Cucurella and Chilwell's side at the moment with Dortmund's early nerves now settling. Wolf has whipped a couple of inviting balls into the box but Chelsea have dealt with them comfortably.

9th min: Now it's Havertz's turn to race through on goal and fluff his lines. He was under pressure with two defenders closing him down but he snatches at the shot and fires wide from the right side.

7th min: Felix shows great feet in the box but Meyer does well to come out and deny him a shot from close range. All Chelsea at the moment.

5th min: Julian Brandt's night is over after picking up an early knock. Giovanni Reyna comes on.

2nd min: Big chance for Sterling early on. Havertz plays a through ball into his path and he has so much time to beat the keeper but he takes way too long, stutters and the defence clear. Chelsea fans are rightly fuming. It looked to be offside anyway but that won't help his confidence.

We're underway!

2 mins from kickoff: The CHAAAAAMPIONSSSSS rings out. We're all set. Make or break for Chelsea and Potter. Here we go!

5 mins from kickoff: The atmosphere is building here in west London. Dortmund fans are LOUD. Players will be making their way out any minute now.

15 mins from kickoff: Jamie Carragher has given his prediction for tonight's match. 

"It’s a huge game. There was a lot of talk before the Leeds game about the pressure on Graham Potter and him potentially losing his job. I think from Graham Potter’s point of view, winning that game [against Leeds] probably gives them a bit of breathing space ahead of the Dortmund game.

"I still expect them to get through, Chelsea. They dominated Dortmund in the first leg. They find themselves behind but I think they were by far the better team so I expect them to go through."

Wonder how he rates his former side Liverpool's chances... who of course trail Real Madrid 5-2 ahead of their second leg trip to the Bernabeu next week.

The other Champions League Round of 16 match taking place tonight sees Benfica host Club Brugges with a 2-0 advantage from the first leg.

MORE: When is Champions League quarterfinal draw 2023? Fixtures, schedule, teams qualified and rules for last eight

KICK OFF DELAYED: Kickoff has been delayed by 10 minutes and will now get underway at 20:10 GMT / 15:10 ET.

It's down to Dortmund's coach arriving slightly late due to heavy traffic and congestion in west London.

Manager Edin Terezic said: "We had a bit of a delay but we are here and ready to fight for the next round.

"We didn't know if we would start on time or if there will be a delay to kick off, it is disturbing a lot."

30 mins from kickoff: Here's a few interesting stats collected from our stats guru that might impact your betting selections tonight if you're fancying a flutter.

 - Borussia Dortmund have scored the opening goal in all of their last eight matches (W8), including the Champions League first leg vs Chelsea. 

- Borussia Dortmund have lost seven of their last eight away games in the Champions League knockout rounds, with the exception being a 3-2 win at Sevilla in the Round of 16 back in 2021.

- This season in the Champions League for Chelsea, no player has registered more goal contributions (4) than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 

- Despite winning 1-0 vs Leeds last time out, Chelsea have still only managed five goals across their 12 outings so far in 2023. That’s despite recording 47 shots on target and racking up 14.98 xG in those matches.

55 mins from kickoff: The big team news for Chelsea sees Reece James make his return to the starting XI. Marc Cucurella is the only other change from the side that beat Leeds at the weekend.

For Dortmund, Jude Bellingham will be the player keeping Chelsea's midfielders on their toes while Sebastien Haller leads the line. 

Alexander Meyer also starts in goal after No.1 Gregor Kobel picked up a muscle injury. Weirdly, he has been named on the bench though...

70 mins from kickoff: And here's Chelsea...

75 mins from kickoff: Dortmund have gone slightly early with their team news. Here's how the visitors line up.

90 mins from kickoff: Raheem Sterling hasn't scored for Chelsea since New Year's Day, yet he remains the club's top scorer this season on six. 

Yet, his record of 24 goals in 67 Champions League games for former club Manchester City, could see Potter call upon the England international to deliver the goods this evening.

"His goalscoring record in the Champions League speaks for itself," said Potter. "He's a proven campaigner in that competition. We're delighted with that, we're looking forward to having him on the pitch on Tuesday, hopefully enjoying his football."

120 mins from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of this Champions League last-16 second-leg encounter between Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund. The Blues have it all to do after trailing 1-0 from the first leg. Can Graham Potter inspire his team to glory and a place in the quarterfinals? Let's get going!

Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund lineups

Chelsea starting XI (3-4-3): Kepa (GK) — Fofana, Koulibaly Cucurella — James, Kovacic, Fernandez, Chillwell — Sterling, Havertz, Felix

Subs: Bettinelli, Bergstrom, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Chalobah, Mudryk, Zakaria, Ziyech, Gallagher, Chukwuemeka, Hall

  • Injured: Silva, Azpilicueta, Kante, Mendy, Broja
  • Suspended: Mount

Potter went with a 3-4-3 formation against Leeds last time out and he's opted tostick with it, which sees Chilwell shifted into midfield. 

Both Hakim Ziyech and Mykhailo Mudryk stayed on the bench in that Leeds game suggesting they were saved for this midweek contest but both players have to settle for a spot on the bench.

Dortmund starting XI (4-1-4-1): Meyer (GK) — Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro — Can — Brandt, Bellingham, Ozcan, Reus — Haller

Subs: Kobel, Unbehaun, Reyna, Dahoud, Hummels, Modeste, Malen, Meunier, Passlack, Rothe, Bynoe-Gittens, Coulibaly

  • Injured: Adeyemi, Morey, Kobel, Kamara, Duranville, Moukoko
  • Suspended: Ryerson

On an 11-game winning run, it was hard to see Edin Terzic shaking up the team formula too much for this one. 

Marco Reus has replaced the injury Karim Adeyemi on the left wing, while Sebastien Haller has led the line across the past few matches. Raphael Guerreiro is expected to replace the suspended Julian Ryerson at left-back.

MORE: How long is Thiago Silva out for?

How to watch Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund

  TV channel Streaming
USA CBS, TUDN, UniMas fuboTV, Paramount+, ViX+,
TUDN, Univision
Canada — DAZN
UK BT Sport 1 BT Sport
Australia — Stan Sport
New Zealand — Spark Sport
India Sony TEN 2, Sony TEN 3,
Sony TEN 4		 Sony LIV, JioTV
Hong Kong beIN Sports 3 beIN Sports Connect
Malaysia beIN Sports 3 beIN Sports Connect
Singapore beIN Sports 3 beIN Sports Connect,
StarHub TV+

UK: This match will be broadcast live in the UK via BT Sports' TV and streaming services.

USA: This match streams on Paramount+ and fuboTV for subscribers in both English and Spanish.

Canada: Every Champions League game this season is live streaming exclusively via DAZN in Canada.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every Champions League match live and on demand on Stan Sport. 

Author(s)
Author Photo
Dan Gibbs
Dan is a sub-editor for The Sporting News' UK edition.
football
champions-league
Borussia Dortmund
Chelsea
Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund
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