Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel acknowledged his side's 1-0 defeat by Porto might not have been a spectacle for neutrals but he revelled in their willingness to scrap as they reached the Champions League semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate.
Chelsea had the advantage from the first leg and spent most of the 90 minutes cancelling out the Portuguese, who finally managed to score two minutes into added time with a tremendous overhead kick from Mehdi Taremi.
"We accepted what was needed was a tough, tough fight. Maybe on the television it was not so nice to watch but on the sidelines it was a very intense game, a very fast game," Tuchel told BT Sport.
"It was a pleasure to watch the fight and be on the sideline with them to see them through."
Porto had knocked out Juventus in the last 16 and held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw in the group stage and Tuchel was wary of letting Sergio Conceicao's side play to their strengths.
He also surprisingly described Taremi's unstoppable overhead kick as fortuitous.
"Part of the performance is to not let the other team perform and we did this today. Until the lucky shot in the last minute we did not concede any chances," added Tuchel, who led Paris St-Germain to last year's final.
"We had to play defensively but also offensively. Normally Porto is a team who can make other teams underperform. It happened to Man City and Juventus. You have to accept that things will be hard.
"We defended well and deserved a clean sheet. We had the better chances. We could not finish it off with a goal so we had to hang in there and the guys did that."
Porto midfielder Sergio Oliveira described his side's exit from the competition as "frustrating and sad", lamenting the fact they scored so late in the tie.
"With the advantage of two goals, I think Chelsea came to manage us. They wanted to calm down the tempo and our intensity. If we were two goals ahead, I think we would have done the same," he said.
"Unfortunately we scored close to the end. Our aim was to score the first goal as quickly as possible, unfortunately we were unable to do that."
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic will miss Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley due to a hamstring injury, Tuchel said.
Kovacic missed Tuesday's game.
"(On Monday) in training he got a muscle injury in his hamstring after 20 minutes, more or less out of nothing," Tuchel said after Tuesday's game.
"He is for sure out for the game against City as well, which is a big loss."
Tuchel started N'Golo Kante in Kovacic's absence, with the France international playing the full game after returning from a hamstring problem.
"N'Golo is incredible," Tuchel said. "We took a little risk with N'Golo but this was the moment to put him on the field and hope he had the energy for 90 minutes.
"He wins so many balls and gives everybody confidence. He did perfect and now it's time to recover good."
- Reuters
Thomas Tuchel delighted with Chelsea's fighting spirit
Image: MARCELO DEL POZO / REUTERS
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel acknowledged his side's 1-0 defeat by Porto might not have been a spectacle for neutrals but he revelled in their willingness to scrap as they reached the Champions League semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate.
Chelsea had the advantage from the first leg and spent most of the 90 minutes cancelling out the Portuguese, who finally managed to score two minutes into added time with a tremendous overhead kick from Mehdi Taremi.
"We accepted what was needed was a tough, tough fight. Maybe on the television it was not so nice to watch but on the sidelines it was a very intense game, a very fast game," Tuchel told BT Sport.
"It was a pleasure to watch the fight and be on the sideline with them to see them through."
Porto had knocked out Juventus in the last 16 and held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw in the group stage and Tuchel was wary of letting Sergio Conceicao's side play to their strengths.
He also surprisingly described Taremi's unstoppable overhead kick as fortuitous.
"Part of the performance is to not let the other team perform and we did this today. Until the lucky shot in the last minute we did not concede any chances," added Tuchel, who led Paris St-Germain to last year's final.
"We had to play defensively but also offensively. Normally Porto is a team who can make other teams underperform. It happened to Man City and Juventus. You have to accept that things will be hard.
"We defended well and deserved a clean sheet. We had the better chances. We could not finish it off with a goal so we had to hang in there and the guys did that."
Porto midfielder Sergio Oliveira described his side's exit from the competition as "frustrating and sad", lamenting the fact they scored so late in the tie.
"With the advantage of two goals, I think Chelsea came to manage us. They wanted to calm down the tempo and our intensity. If we were two goals ahead, I think we would have done the same," he said.
"Unfortunately we scored close to the end. Our aim was to score the first goal as quickly as possible, unfortunately we were unable to do that."
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic will miss Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley due to a hamstring injury, Tuchel said.
Kovacic missed Tuesday's game.
"(On Monday) in training he got a muscle injury in his hamstring after 20 minutes, more or less out of nothing," Tuchel said after Tuesday's game.
"He is for sure out for the game against City as well, which is a big loss."
Tuchel started N'Golo Kante in Kovacic's absence, with the France international playing the full game after returning from a hamstring problem.
"N'Golo is incredible," Tuchel said. "We took a little risk with N'Golo but this was the moment to put him on the field and hope he had the energy for 90 minutes.
"He wins so many balls and gives everybody confidence. He did perfect and now it's time to recover good."
- Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
Rugby
Sport
Rugby
Rugby
Cricket