Chelsea have done it again. Under Thomas Tuchel's tutelage they have guided themselves through another Champions League knockout stage and now find themselves in the draw for the competition's quarter-finals.
They join the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich in the final eight, and await Friday's draw to see where their route to the final next takes them.
But first, time to reflect on last night's win over Lille as strikes from Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta saw the Blues prevail 2-1 on the night and 4-1 on aggregate. football.london take a look at the talking points to emerge from the match.
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Lethal Christian Pulisic
First chance and Pulisic didn't miss. While much of the talk of recent months has been Kai Havertz vs Romelu Lukaku, the USA international didn't do a bad impression of a striker as he slotted past Leo Jardim.
The 23-year-old thrives with any space, as he shown already in the first leg against Lille, and with a goal against Liverpool earlier in 2022. Pulisic also added a goal and an assist against Burnley in the Premier League.
The former Borussia Dortmund man may have only scored six times this term but may just be finding a bit of a flurry now he has been handed the opportunity to feature nearer to the opposition goal.
Given the form of Havertz, Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech in 2022 in addition to Mason Mount's consistency, Thomas Tuchel may be beginning to truly unlock his attacking players - a struggle the Blues have had for a long time.
Tactics
Well, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. Pulisic and Havertz were pretty isolated for much of that first half as the Blues were unable to find relief from Lille for much of the time.
In a tweak to Tuchel's favoured 3-4-3, Chelsea lined up in a 3-5-2 with the return of the wing-backs, seeing Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic all start. The trio are truly world class but could not exert the control you might expect from their esteemed reputations and the possession they recorded.
It's a struggle the Blues have seen before as the Chelsea stars found themselves in the same XI against Manchester City in September. A very different task but on that occasion, as Mount was left on the bench, they also struggled to find a way to connect midfield and attack.
Tuchel said that changes he made to his side were necessary to 'have fresh legs and also a fresh mindset', but it did not quite pay off on this occasion.
Chelsea's right-hand side
Trevoh Chalobah had quite the introduction after replacing Andreas Christensen at Stade Pierre Mauroy. Within a minute he was being shown a yellow card for for hauling down Jonathan David in a moment that was reminiscent of the challenge he made on Jacob Murphy against Newcastle.
It was a moment that may have left Chelsea supporters nervous but the 22-year-old rebounded well and warmed into the game to show once again he has an attitude that Tuchel can rely on.
He had the perfect influence to his right in Cesar Azpilicueta. While the Spaniard's goal may be his most significant impact in the fixture, the 32-year-old looked tireless in his return from illness.
"He is maybe the perfect example to describe, as a person and leader,"said Tuchel, "He is just doing what he is doing and he's doing it in good times and bad times. He is doing it over and over again.
"No matter if he has a personal period when he maybe suffers a bit and isn't playing regularly, or if he has to play as a wing-back which maybe isn't his best position, but he is there and lives on a daily basis what it takes to be Chelsea captain.
"He is a legend already at the club and this is what we need. I don't think we need extra, extra, extra at the moment. We just need a reliable attitude, reliable teamwork, and a reliable spirit. This is what we have and Azpi is a huge part as a captain."
It's sad to think Azpilicueta could be coming to the end of his Chelsea career. His 90 minutes against the French champions proved we could be in for quite a swansong yet, however.
Thomas Tuchel and the Champions League
Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea is a love story but it seems like the German coach has an ongoing affair with the Champions League. The 48-year-old reached the final with PSG before winning the competition with Chelsea and now finds himself back in the last eight.
The Blues boss is finding his name mentioned alongside European giants as he now claims a competition record. According to Opta, Tuchel has recorded more wins than any other manager in his first 50 Champions League matches. The head coach has recorded 32, putting him ahead of Zinedine Zidane, 31, Pep Guardiola, 30, Vicente del Bosque, 29, and Diego Simeone, 28. Not a bad list to head.
It's clear that not only the success matters to him, however. The trips provide a great opportunity to see Tuchel's connection with supporters too. As per Ollie Glanvill, when Tuchel returned for his television interview, he was serenaded by supporters and responded in kind by banging his chest, pumping his fists before raising his hand to his heart and saluting the crowd.
