Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea: Giroud acrobatics puts Blues ahead

Olivier Giroud was the star of the evening as Premier League side Chelsea FC defeated Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their round-of-16 UEFA Champions League clash. The Frenchman's sensational overhead kick gave Chelsea the single goal that they needed to win the match which was played in Bucharest.

The 0-1 victory for Chelsea means that they will be heading into the second leg with a crucial away goal. It's a narrow lead and anything can still happen, but an away goal is always good to have in your pocket coming into a return fixture.

Chelsea's new manager Thomas Tuchel is proving that he was the right choice to replace Frank Lampard on the Chelsea bench, as he has now strung together an unbeaten run since taking over a month ago.

Atletico Madrid was unable to host their home leg at the Wanda Metropolitano in the Spanish capital due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. As such, the match was played in Romania instead of Spain.

There would have been no home advantage anyway, as spectators are still banned from entering stadiums in Spain. Nevertheless, even on TV, it would have been painful for Atletico fans to watch Giroud's acrobatics that led to the winning goal.

It was made even more controversial after the goal was initially ruled offside, but the VAR analysis revealed that the ball had hit Atletico defender Mario Hermoso before Giroud made the spectacular strike in the 68th minute.

It was a unexpected setback for Diego Simeone's side, who have suddenly found themselves with back-to-back losses in La Liga and the Champions League. They had a strong start to the season which took them to the top of La Liga and into the knockout stages of the Champions League. Now, they will have to stage a comeback if they want to reach the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, it has been the opposite for Chelsea. After a shaky start of the season which led to the sacking of Lampard, they now have an eight-match unbeaten streak.

The second leg will be played on March 17 at Stamford Bridge.