Chelsea hung on to reach the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win despite Mehdi Taremi’s stunning overhead kick in added time handing Porto a 1-0 victory in the quarter-final second leg on Tuesday.
Porto’s only half chance came when Mendy’s poor kick out found Jesus Manuel Corona, whose shot was blocked by the alert Jorginho. Chelsea’s job was half done at half-time.
The visitors were intense in the first half, but lacking in quality in the final third as neither side registered a shot on target until the 66th minute, when Edouard Mendy did well to save and hold sub Taremi’s weak header.
The only goal of the game was a memorable one, with Mehdi Taremi scoring an overhead kick, but it came in the 93rd minute and was too late for Porto to capitalise on.
The substitute had been responsible for his side’s only attempt on target as they chased a 2-0 deficit from last week’s first leg but he provided an emphatic response in a cagey game with his acrobatic strike deep into added time.
Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic each came close to breaking the deadlock after the interval but the Londoners were more focused on keeping Porto at bay.
Whereas Porto caused Chelsea plenty of problems during the first half of the first leg last week, Tuchel’s team were far more comfortable this time around.
Chelsea progress into the semi-finals, where they are joined by Paris Saint-Germain after they ousted Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
The final two quarter-finals are played on Wednesday as Manchester City take a 2-1 lead to Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool look to overturn a 3-1 deficit at Anfield against Real Madrid.
