Delighted Chelsea owner Todd Boehly gives Graham Potter a hug in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge, while holding a bottle of beer, after their vital Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.
- Chelsea beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to advance and have the club looking up
- Follow Saturday’s crucial Premier League win over Leeds United at home
- Todd Boehly couldn’t hide his delight when he saw Graham Potter in the tunnel
Todd Boehly cheerfully greeted Graham Potter in the tunnel on Tuesday night after Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, while holding a bottle of beer.
Trailing 1–0 from the first leg, much of the pre-match talk centered on how precarious Potter’s job could look had Chelsea been knocked out of the competition, which would have ended their season as a spectacle.
As it is, Chelsea’s first back-to-back wins since October and a strong performance seem to have given Potter more time, and more importantly, credit, to work with his fanatical team.
Coming out into the tunnel shortly after Potter, Boehly made sure to catch up with the manager to congratulate him.
With reports emerging in recent weeks that Boehly, in particular, was keen to give the former Brighton and Swansea manager time at the club, he apparently confirmed his affection for the man in the footage.
Todd Boehly (back right) greets Graham Potter in the tunnel after Chelsea beat Borussia Dortmund
The two reportedly share a close working relationship, with Boehly believed to be a strong Potter supporter.
Graham Potter fought to contain his joy and relief on the pitch after the final whistle.
Letting out a huge whoop, Boehly and Potter shared a joyous hug that further underscored their delight and relief at Chelsea’s continued European campaign.
Boehly could be seen holding a bottle of beer as he greeted Potter.
The enormity of the evening was best summed up, perhaps, by Potter himself not being able to see Chelsea’s second-half repeat penalty.
With Raheem Sterling giving the Blues a well-deserved first half lead, they looked to make their dominance known early in the second period.
Borussia Dortmund were outraged when Marius Wolf was penalized by VAR for touching the ball off a Ben Chilwell cross. Jude Bellingham, on post-match duty, said the defender was only a yard away, before adding that he didn’t want to be too critical to avoid being fined, again.
However, the referees saw it differently and awarded a penalty. Dortmund thought justice had been done when Kai Havertz sent Alexander Meyer the wrong way, only for the ball to hit the post again.
However, it had to be retaken due to the invasion. Making no mistake on the second try, Havertz duly dispatched the ball and Chelsea can now dream of another, unlikely, Champions League run.
The Chelsea boss has found himself under intense pressure in recent weeks, but he has eased some of that.
Boehly looked as delighted and relieved as the Chelsea manager after the game.
Chelsea await their quarterfinal opponents knowing that their season is not over yet.
The winner of the match, Kai Havertz, is greeted by his teammate Enzo Fernández at the end of the game.
Speaking to BT Sport after the game, Potter did not hide his delight at the result, praising his team, saying they deserved to go through two games.
“There was a fantastic feeling in the dressing room,” he said. ‘This tournament means a lot to us and sets us up for some good weeks.
We have to recover and prepare for Leicester on Saturday. But it’s great for the boys, two wins, two clean sheets.
“It was important that we could pressure them and get the crowd going, attacking them when they’re disorganized.” It’s a difficult team to play, but the players were fantastic, they deserved to go through”.