It’s been lauded as one of the club’s best performances in European football since they lifted the trophy back in 2012.
Chelsea’s 2-1 away victory at the Wanda Metropolitano was a tactical masterclass that shunned any doubt that Antonio Conte can produce the goods on a European front this season.
Diego Simeone’s men are notoriously hard to beat, organised and well drilled. Over the years they’ve often drawn comparisons to Chelsea, which is why the manager himself was so heavily linked with a move to the club before Conte’s arrival.
From minute one Chelsea were impressing, the five-man midfield with Cesc Fabregas joining the duo of N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko, who continue to get better and better with every game, allowed Eden Hazard to take up a free role, as a makeshift number 10/false nine.
The central position is one we’ve seen Hazard occupy on a number of occasions and it’s with every game he plays there, he seems to be getting better. His low centre of gravity and mesmerising dribbling ability makes him a nightmare to stop when at full speed, as shown by the numerous dazzling runs he had on Wednesday night.
The result was described as a ‘steal’ during the TV commentary after Michy Batshuayi scored the winning goal with the last kick of the game, but that simply isn’t giving Chelsea the credit they deserve on a night where they wrote their names into the history books.
Alvaro Morata, perhaps the most fitting of players following the reception he was given by the home fans, became the first opposition player to score in the brand new state of the art Metropolitano and Chelsea were also the first away side to three points there too.
Robbie Savage summed the performance up perfectly in commentary (I know, I was as surprised as you too), claiming Chelsea were ‘out Atletico Madriding Atletico Madrid’, which is exactly what Conte did.
The Premier League champions were compact and confident at the back, aside from a moment of madness in the penalty box from David Luiz, which he may have a case to feel hard by done anyway, but needless to say, he shouldn’t have put himself and his team-mates in that position. They pressed Atletico Madrid, harnessed the raucous atmosphere to make it an uncomfortable night for the La Liga side.
The build-up to the game was surrounded by the meeting of two over exuberant coaches, but it came down to Conte’s tactical nous to win the game, despite many doubting his ability in the Champions League.
Conte’s experience in Europe while at Juventus were not great but he has shown no signs of concern in Chelsea’s opening two games, albeit one against Qarabag.
With two meetings against Roma on the horizon, a home win against the Serie A side could put Chelsea in a very strong position to not only qualify but to win the group. Conte would have been aiming to win the group no doubt, but given the draw, the Blues were handed he would have accepted second place if it was offered to him.
Coming out of this group top of the pile will be crucial when it comes to the draw for the latter stages and Chelsea’s hopes of advancing.
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