Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marius Wolf admitted Chelsea’s back-three system made it difficult for the German side in Tuesday’s 2-0 second-leg defeat.
The Blues secured a 2-1 win on aggregate after a dramatic win at Stamford Bridge.
Graham Potter’s men were on the hunt for an equaliser in the tie from the start. It took a while and after missing two big chances, Raheem Sterling found the roof of the net just before half-time.
The situation took a turn for the worse for Dortmund after the referee gave Chelsea a penalty for Wolf’s handball.
Kai Havertz missed his first attempt but was fortunate to be able to retake the penalty due to player encroachment and he did not miss the second one.
“It’s bitter, but we have to accept it,” Wolf said after the game (via Dortmund’s official website).
“I didn’t go to the ball with my hand at the penalty, it’s not intentional, I had my arms to my body, I still turned away.”
Dortmund had plenty of time to force the game into extra time, however, and they clearly tried, but to no avail.
According to Wolf, Chelsea’s defensive setup played a part.
“Chelsea then played deep with five men at the back,” he explained.
“We had two or three chances to go into extra time. It’s a pity.
“Today we’re disappointed, but tomorrow we’ll concentrate fully on Schalke.”
Ben Chilwell and Wesley Fofana had to make important tackles to save Chelsea a few times, but overall, Dortmund were nowhere close to scoring except for Jude Bellingham’s miss in the second half.
Bear in mind that no team managed to keep a clean sheet against Dortmund in their previous 11 games.
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