Chelsea's 2-0 win over Lille in their Champions League first leg encounter continued the Blues' impressive run in knockout football
Thomas Tuchel has helped his side to the final of every competition the club have been involved in during his tenure and already lifted the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies, with the Carabao Cup final to come as soon as this weekend against Liverpool.
Chelsea are set impressively to progress to the quarter-final of Europe's premier competition once again. With another clean sheet thanks in particular to the stellar work of Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on Tuesday night, the Blues once again showed the fortress they can build from the back.
Lille's blank accounted for Chelsea's sixth clean sheet in a row at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League, while Edouard Mendy has now claimed 14 clean sheets in 18 appearances in the competition for Chelsea.
It's been an obvious strength for Chelsea but not their only one.
This season, according to Opta, the Blues have also recorded more goals from corners than any other team in the competition with Kai Havertz's header the latest to add to the ranks. The Blues have netted from the corner flag in Chelsea's last three matches against Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg and of course, the French champions.
Trevoh Chalobah found the net on his first Champions League start against the Old Lady.
Hakim Ziyech was the provider on that occasion, with Jorginho and Silva set at the front post, and the ball targeting Rudiger towards the back and Ben Chilwell just more centrall. Chilwell creates the confusing at first with his marker, Rodrigo Bentancur, causing the deflection that sends the ball into Rudiger's chest, then consequently into the path of Chalobah, who finishes well.
Against Zenit, Chelsea first overload the front post from Ross Barkley's cross. Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta, Malang Sarr and Romelu Lukaku provided plenty of physical presence in a crowded area. The Denmark international's pressure forces his marker to flick the ball on and Timo Werner is lurking by the goalkeeper to put the ball into the net.
It was an outswinging kick from Ziyech that found Havertz against Lille. Again the plethora of options was vast with Rudiger, Marcos Alonso, Azpilicueta, Christensen and Silva to target.
Certainly as evidenced in these examples, Chelsea have a number of aerial threats that few teams will have the depth to cancel out with their 11 players on the pitch.
The Blues success from the set piece goes beyond the competition however.
The penalty they earned in the Club World Cup final was from a corner. Havertz won the header from Ziyech's inswinger from the left before Azpilicueta won the second ball and his shot struck the hand of the Palmeiras defender.
Even against Liverpool this season, Chelsea have generated a goal from a corner.
Much like against Zenit, the Blues opted for an inswinging corner from the left. As Reece James prepared to knock the ball in, again Chelsea's attacks swarmed towards the front post with Lukaku in the vicinity of Alisson, Jorginho ahead of him. Azpilicueta, Rudiger and Havertz attacked with the German producing another fine header from the corner of the six-yard box at Anfield.
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In the Reds' visit to Stamford Bridge, the Blues earned a free kick in between the corner spot and where the 18-yard box meets the byline. Not quite a corner but not far off. Alonso producing an inswinging cross-come-shot from the right with bodies again filling the box - Havertz, Silva, Chalobah, Jorginho, Azpilicueta and Rudiger on this occasion.
The Brazilian stopper managed to palm the ball away but the Reds could spare no men to cover the Blues bodies waiting on the edge of the box, and the same is true for corners mentioned earlier in this piece.
On this occasion Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic awaited, with the Croatian pulling out the best Chelsea goal of the season.
The Blues have a dangerous weapon, and in knockout football, it's power is enhanced with few goals often scored. They will hope to rely on that once again to test Liverpool's resolve in the box.
