Atletico Madrid's defeat to Chelsea is a 'big reflection of how poor La Liga is at the moment' - Rio Ferdinand

Chelsea picked up a remarkable away result against Atletico Madrid after they won 1-0 in Bucharest in their Round of 16 tie in the Champions League.

The Blues were the dominant team, indicated by the possession stats and build-up play. However, it was a match of few chances - one of which Chelsea grabbed through an incredible overhead kick from Olivier Giroud.

🔵 Olivier Giroud becomes the first Chelsea player to score 6 goals or more in a Champions League campaign since Didier Drogba (6) in 2011/12...#UCL pic.twitter.com/YfyExf3I22

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 23, 2021

Following the game, former English players Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole analysed Atletico's performance, claiming that the La Liga leaders represented the Spanish first division poorly.

"This is a big reflection of how poor the La Liga is at the moment, Atletico didn’t really threaten," Ferdinand said. "Chelsea seemed to coast, that was a fantastic finish, and they didn’t get tested after that. Not being at the stadium helps as well. They [Atletico] feed off that and probably lost that edge as well."

Ferdinand also claimed that if the Blues put up a professional showing during the return leg at Stamford Bridge, they will 'sail through' to the quarterfinal.

"When you play an away game in Europe and you get a 1-0 win, you go home with that and you’re laughing. If they’re professional about it, they’ll sail through. This isn’t the Atletico Madrid team we’ve seen before," the 42-year-old added.

Chelsea were in charge of the game against Atletico Madrid: Joe Cole

Joe Cole

Following the Blues' positive result in Bucharest, former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole echoed Ferdinand's statements. Cole assumed that his former team would struggle without the presence of N'Golo Kante.

"They (Chelsea) made it an uneventful night and didn’t give Atletico Madrid anything to bite on," Cole said.

"This team[Atletico] looked a shadow of themselves. I thought it was gonna be a tough one without N'Golo Kante but Chelsea just dominated. They controlled possession and were in charge of the game throughout," the 39-year-old added.

Chelsea now have a run of big games in the Premier League before the return leg against Atletico Madrid. Thomas Tuchel's side will take on Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday before going up against Liverpool, Everton and Leeds United.

'We controlled the whole match and kept a clean sheet which is amazing!' 💪The boss' view. pic.twitter.com/DZ6zvM8pgW

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 24, 2021

Diego Simeone will have a lot on his plate as well as the defeat against the Blues is Atletico Madrid's third game without a win. After making a dominant start to the season in the La Liga, they have a 3-point lead to defend at the top of the table, with a game in hand.