With Chelsea having won just their second game of 2023 against Leeds United at the weekend, manager Graham Potter was looking to build on that performance with a second consecutive win, which would see them progress to the last eight teams in the UEFA Champions League.

Here's what we learnt as the Londoners squeezed past Borussia Dortmund....

Pot Luck

Graham Potter will have have felt the tide of fate turn in his favour thanks to a couple of VAR decisions which went in his side's favour and which ultimately decided the tie. 

The award of the penalty, which Dortmund may have viewed as harsh having taken place over a couple of seconds and a couple of metres, was though a clear and obvious strike of an outstretched arm and was very much in line with the law around handball.

The subsequent re-taking of the missed penalty, will draw more debate. An encroachment in the box gave Kai Havertz the opportunity to retake the penalty, which at the second attempt, landed in the bottom right hand corner of the goal to give Chelsea the lead in the tie for the first time.  

Chelsea have been due a little luck and Potter will be hoping that these two consecutive victories can act as the shift in momentum that he and his side have so badly needed since the returned from the World Cup break. The change in formation, to three at the back, seems to be the one, after much tinkering by Potter since he came to the helm for the blues. 

Kai Havertz enjoys another Champions League night for Chelsea | Creator: Fantasista  |  Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2023 Fantasista
Kai Havertz enjoys another Champions League night for Chelsea | Creator: Fantasista | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2023 Fantasista

Havertz the Hero

And on Havertz, a player Chelsea fans will forever celebrate and associate with their UEFA Champions League victory in 2021 and his match-winning goal against Manchester City, the German proved once again that he is a big-game player. 

Some brilliant link-up play and movement saw Havertz star at Stamford Bridge. He was unlucky to have a fine strike ruled out in the first-half and gave the Dortmund defence a torrid time with his trickery. Some silky skills and a through-ball to Mateo Kovacic gave Ben Chilwell the opportunity to cross into the box and find Raheem Sterling for the opening goal and he never stopped looking like a threat. 

It showed real character to step up for the penalty retake and to take the penalty in the exact same way that he had just done unsuccessfully. Keeping a cool head, he did exactly that and made the difference on the night.

If Chelsea can play as they did against Dortmund, with players on the wings moving up and alongside to support Havertz in attack, they will surely create more opportunities than they have done in recent weeks going forward.

Chilwell tames Wolf

Following his assist for Wesley Fofana in Chelsea's previous game, Ben Chilwell put in an incredible performance, much to the frustration of Dortmund's defender Marius Wolf. It was Chilwell's cross that enabled Raheem Sterling to volley past goalkeeper Alexander Meyer for the opening goal and Chilwell who won the penalty which decided the tie. 

Ben Chilwell comes to blows with Dortmund's Wold | Creator: Fantasista  |  Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2023 Fantasista
Ben Chilwell comes to blows with Dortmund's Wold | Creator: Fantasista | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2023 Fantasista

Chilwell riled the Dortmund defender in the second-half, drawing fouls and free-kicks from the frustrated Wolf, who at one point, pushed the England left-back with both hands on his back whilst he chased after him, for which he received a booking. Wolf's handball in the penalty area made the difference for Chelsea, adding to his own personally disappointing evening. 

A mention also for Marc Cucurella, sometime Chilwell stand-in, who played in a back three and had probably his best game in a Chelsea shirt so far. 

Jude Bellingham cut a frustrated figure in Dortmund's second-leg defeat to Chelsea | Creator: DeFodi Images  |  Credit: DeFodi Images Copyright: 2023 DeFodi Images
Jude Bellingham cut a frustrated figure in Dortmund's second-leg defeat to Chelsea | Creator: DeFodi Images | Credit: DeFodi Images Copyright: 2023 DeFodi Images

Bellingham Boils Over

Jude Bellingham, a player who is in much-demand from suitors all over Europe's top leagues had a relatively quiet evening by his standards, unless you were referee Danny Makkelie.  

Bellingham, who is Dortmund's deputy captain behind veteran Marco Reus, failed to have the impact on the game that many would have anticipated. In post match comments, he stated that the decision to award the penalty was "disappointing", but that the subsequent re-taking of the penalty was "a joke" in his post-match interview. 

His England colleague Reece James felt the brunt of Bellingham's frustrations late in the second-half, when a crunching tackle from the former Birmingham City player was punished with a yellow card, and was perhaps fortunate not to have gone to VAR for a review.

Still, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is believed to be an admirer of Bellingham and his fight and desire for the battle will have done him no harm in the eyes of the many who are in hot pursuit of his signature. 

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