Chelsea will take a 2-0 lead into the second leg of their quarter-final tie with Porto next week, after goals from Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell handed Thomas Tuchel’s side the win at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Wednesday night.
Mount provided the only real moment of quality in a drab first-half as he made a fool of Porto defender Zaidu Sanusi, spinning behind the Nigeria international before smashing the ball into the bottom corner.
Chelsea took control of the tie with just five minutes to play, as Chilwell pounced on a mistake from Porto’s Jesus Corona before rounding Agustin Marchesin and tapping into an empty net.
A solid night’s work for Tuchel’s side as they secured a two-goal lead heading into the second leg next Tuesday.
Right then, let’s get to those all important Porto and Chelsea player ratings…
Agustin Marchesin (GK) – 4/10 – Made a bit of a meal of Mount’s opener and perhaps could have done better had he not went to ground so quickly. Looked shaky all evening and was lucky not to concede more.
Wilson Manafa (RB) – 6/10 – Defended well on the whole but couldn’t provide an outlet on the Porto left which may have aided his side’s bid to get themselves back into the game.
Chancel Mbemba (CB) – 5/10 – Struggled with the movement of Timo Werner and could have been punished were it not for some wayward Chelsea through-balls.
Pepe (CB) – 7/10 – The former Real Madrid man clearly doesn’t have the legs he used to but the defensive nous is still there. Defended well and was solid in the air.
Zaidu Sanusi (LB) – 5/10 – Made to look like a Sunday League player as Mount rolled him to open the scoring.
Marko Grujic (CM) – 7/10 – Got through a good amount of work in the centre of the pitch and stifled Mateo Kovacic whenever the Croatian advanced forward.
Mateus Uribe (CM) – 6/10 – Superb volleyed effort having teed himself up which drifted just a foot over the bar.
Otavio (CM) – 5/10 – Had a great opportunity to potentially open the scoring early on but just couldn’t compose himself. Was lively throughout but the quality wasn’t there.
Jesus Corona (RW) – 5/10 – Looked busy on the right and caused Antonio Rudiger problems in the wide areas. Made a terrible error late on to give his side a mountain to climb next week.
Moussa Marega (ST) – 6/10 – Tasked with leading the line and he didn’t do a bad job of it. Occupied the Chelsea backline and didn’t stop running all evening.
Luis Diaz (LW) – 5/10 – Tasked with tracking the runs of Reece James and just couldn’t keep up with the flying Englishman. Subsequently couldn’t impact the game in an attacking sense and had something of a miserable evening.
Toni Martínez (ST) – N/A
Fabio Vieira (CM) – N/A
Francisco Conceicao (ST) – N/A
Edouard Mendy (GK) – 6/10 – Had to produce a smart save direct from a corner to deny Porto taking the lead. Given very little to do but did what was needed.
Cesar Azpilicueta (CB) – 8/10 – Absolutely brilliant display. Used all of his nous as a full-back to cover his defensive partners and track runners. Prevented at least two clear-cut chances thanks to his instinctive tracking.
Andreas Christensen (CB) – 7/10 – Deployed in the centre of the Chelsea back three and he looked comfortable in possession as ever.
Antonio Rudiger (CB) – 6/10 – Put his physical attributes to good use whenever he was dragged into the wide areas with Chilwell advancing.
Reece James (RWB) – 7/10 – A constant threat down the Chelsea right. Didn’t stop running forward and never looked like neglecting his defensive duties.
Jorginho (CM) – 6/10 – Has this man ever produced a performance which wasn’t either a 5/10 or a 6/10? Same old Jorginho, nothing exciting to report (again).
Mateo Kovacic (CM) – 5/10 – Did his best to drag his team up the field and carry the ball forward, but he found himself crowded out by the Porto midfield all too often.
Ben Chilwell (LWB) – 7/10 – Preferred to Marcos Alonso on the Chelsea left. Pounced on a mistake from Jesus Corona late on to double his side’s lead and looked threatening all game.
Mason Mount (RW) – 7/10 – An absolutely brilliant turn and finish to hand Chelsea the lead and subsequently become the Blues’ youngest ever Champions League knockout stage goalscorer.
Kai Havertz (ST) – 5/10 – Looked a bit of a lost soul at times. Drifted round without every really threatening to spark into life. His night was summed up as he missed the target from about six yards out, only for the linesman’s flag to prevent his embarrassment – kinda.
Timo Werner (LW) – 6/10 – Looked to drift infield and use his pace to stretch the Porto backline but the service to him just wasn’t there on the night.
Christian Pulisic (RW) – 5/10
Olivier Giroud (ST) – 6/10
Thiago Silva (CB) – 6/10
N’Golo Kante (CM) – 6/10
Emerson (LB) – N/A