Chelsea v Borussia Dortmund LIVE result: Champions League score as Sterling and Havertz send Chelsea through

Relief for Graham Potter, and maybe the release? It is possible this 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund could be looked back on as the game where it all changed, as so much finally went the beleaguered manager’s way. Chelsea didn’t just score, but scored twice, marking the first time they had two goals in a game in 2023. Much more importantly, it was exactly what they needed to put them into the quarter finals of the Champions League, in what undoubtedly represents his first big feat as manager here.

That might seem a bit much for a club who should be used to this level, but that’s how bad it was getting, and why this will feel all the more satisfying. You could even say Potter is now on a roll. This 2-0 also marked the first time his side have won successive games since October, and it was certainly his biggest victory. The only game that comes close was Milan away.

Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, didn’t yet look close to the Champions League knock-out matchwinner he will inevitably become, contriving to somehow miss the best chance of the game. Potter would no doubt feel relief it was for once the opposition suffering that. Part of the issue for Dortmund, though, was they had so little else.

It was not the first problem Chelsea have had with a coach this season. Indeed, given the way Thomas Tuchel’s reign imploded, it was not even the first with a Borussia Dortmund coach. But when a large vehicle containing the visitors struggled to get into Stamford Bridge, at least it was not an issue with a malfunctioning coach that was an indictment of Graham Potter.

Instead, an evening that had the potential to render him a dead man walking, to borrow a phrase often used about one of his beleaguered predecessors, Claudio Ranieri, instead produced the best result of his troubled tenure as Chelsea manager. Which, admittedly, is not saying much. The shortlist of candidates was just that: until Dortmund were defeated, it only contained home-and-away victories over AC Milan. A knockout game with a manager under pressure, factoring in a first-leg deficit, rendered this the finest.

Dortmund’s difficulties arriving put kick-off back. If it might have only extended Chelsea’s participation in the Champions League by another 10 minutes, instead it goes on into April. So, surely, will Potter’s time in charge. Chelsea are only 10^th in the Premier League but they can at least brand themselves one of the top eight sides in Europe.

“I’m not sure! There is a lot of emotion in the end. It was tense in the end but the boys played fantastic. I am delighted for them to get the win and great for everyone here.

“I knew they had encroached [on the penalty]. It was him or Reece. Sometimes they have to feel it on the pitch. Obviously we have confidence in Kai. I wasn’t watching it but delighted when I heard the roar.

“Taking penalties is not for me, so I am in awe of anybody [who does].

“There was a fantastic feeling in the dressing room. We have been through a toiugh period and this competition means a lot for us. We wanted to progress and get into the last eight and it sets us up for the next few weeks.

“We have to recover and prepare for Saturday when we play Leicester. It is great for the boys, two clean sheets after a tough period. You get that in life and it is about how you respond and the players have been fantastic.

“It was important we put pressure on them and get the crowd with us. It is not easy to do because they are a top team playing with confidence.

“Credit to the players they gave everything and over the two games I thought we deserved to go through.”

Since his debut in the competition in September 2014, Raheem Sterling (44) has been involved in more Champions League goals than any other Englishman (27 goals, 17 assists), while only Wayne Rooney (30) has ever netted more in the competition amongst his compatriots.

Chelsea have now progressed from five Uefa Champions League knockout stage ties after losing the first leg, the joint-most of any team in the competition’s history (Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid also five).

Graham Potter has become just the second English manager to win five UEFA Champions League games in a single season, after Bobby Robson with Newcastle in 2002/03 (5).

“I don’t know what I was thinking [when it hit the post] but the referee let me retake the penalty. I was a bit nervous but I scored. I tried to wait and look at the keeper and the second one was a bit easier.

“The last two weeks were hard, we lost a lot of games. Tonight was important this is a big tournament and it’s the last trophy that we can win.

“We showed character and that we want to keep going.”

“It was a massive performance. We had to dig deep. We took our chances. We felt as a team we could do it.

“I had a little mis-kick with the first touch but it landed perfectly and allowed us to build on that for our performance.

“I thought about taking it [the penalty] the second time but I was so confident in Kai [Havertz] to put it in the back of the net.”

Graham Potter is the first English manager to lead Chelsea to a Champions League knockout game win.

Frank Lampard’s Blues lost both legs against Bayern Munich at this stage in 2019/20.