Atletico Madrid 0-1 Chelsea: 5 Hits and Flops as Olivier Giroud scorcher sinks toothless Rojiblancos | UEFA Champions League 2020/21

#3 Hit: Olivier Giroud | Chelsea

Giroud's stunner gave Chelsea the crucial away goal

Much like Mount and the rest of Chelsea's attacking personnel, Olivier Giroud didn't have too much joy in the first 45 minutes of the game. The veteran striker was largely anonymous and his aerial threat was dealt with very well by Brazilian defender Felipe, and uncharacteristically managed to win just one of his six aerial duels in the 90 minutes.

However, his display after the break was in keeping with his performances in this year's edition of the UEFA Champions League. Giroud began to bring both Mount and Werner into the game with his superb hold-up play and made better use of the ball whenever he was afforded any space. The 34-year-old then rose to the occasion and made the difference for Chelsea when it mattered the most with an absolutely magnificent goal.

34 - Aged 34 years and 146 days, Olivier Giroud is the oldest player to score in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for Chelsea, and the oldest to do so for an English side since Ryan Giggs (37) in April 2011 vs Schalke. Golden. pic.twitter.com/6xTgTcwrS7

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 23, 2021

After a cross from Alonso, Giroud hung around in the box and pounced on a poorly-judged clearance from Hermoso and unleashed a superb bicycle kick to beat a diving Jan Oblak at his near post to win the game for Chelsea. It was the Frenchman's sixth goal in five UCL games this year, averaging a strike every 38 minutes.

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#2 Flop: Thomas Lemar | Atletico Madrid

Lemar was constantly overrun by Chelsea

French wide man Thomas Lemar never really lived up to the reputation he came to Atletico Madrid with, and his display in Bucharest is another addition to the list of forgettable displays for the club. Lemar was one of the poorest players on the pitch against Chelsea, constantly being overrun by Azpilicueta, Hudson-Odoi, and Mount.

Even when he did get on the ball he couldn't make judicious use of it and, more often than not, made the wrong decision or led with a poor touch. Lemar provided little to no attacking impetus from the left and was pushed into a rather unnatural left-back role for the most part of the game, leaving Hermoso exposed on that side of the Rojiblancos' defence.

Hudson-Odoi, in particular was a player that got the better of Lemar on multiple occasions as the Englishman breezed past him to penetrate the left side of the hosts' backline. It was, for all intents and purposes, a truly uninspiring display from Atletico Madrid's €72m man.

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#1 Hit: Cesar Azpilicueta | Chelsea

Azpilicueta was excellent on the night

Chelsea's ever-reliable leader Cesar Azpilicueta continued his fine run in the side since Tuchel took over and tonight was another reminder of why that remains to be the case. The Spanish defender was arguably Chelsea's best defender on the night and that isn't down solely to his immaculate defensive work.

Tuchel has already shown that he wants his side to stretch teams out with a great amount of width, and the 31-year-old was one of the major facilitators of this approach. Azpilicueta regularly pushed high up the pitch as the wider centre-back and gave the Blues a reliable outlet on the right-hand side. This allowed right wing-back Callum Hudson-Odoi to push even further up the pitch, constantly running in behind Thomas Lemar on Atleti's left.

Cesar Azpilicueta won 100% of his 6 aerial duels against Atletico and was not dribbled past once. Enjoying his role in Tuchel’s side. #UCL pic.twitter.com/UEbdMc4V3U

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 23, 2021

On the defensive end, Azpilicueta had more than his fair share of run-ins with in-form Joao Felix because of Atleti's off-the-ball shape as the Portuguese tucked into the left side of their midfield. The Blues captain handled this threat excellently and marshalled the mercurial attacker brilliantly. Azpilicueta ended the game with the most touches (117) and won more aerial duels (six) than any player on the pitch in Bucharest. A superb outing for one of Chelsea's most loyal servants.

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