"I was a bit nervous" - Kai Havertz opens up on penalty retake in Chelsea's crucial 2-0 win against Dortmund
Chelsea star Kai Havertz admitted he was 'nervous' to retake the penalty in their 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for the Blues towards the end of the first half before Havertz converted from 12 yards early after the break to send Dortmund packing.
However, the German hadn't originally buried his spot kick, smashing his attempt against the bar, but was given a reprieve when referee Danny Makkelie asked him to retake the penalty.
38': Chelsea goal disallowed due to Raheem Sterling being offside ❌
43': Sterling scores ✅
51': Kai Havertz misses a penalty, but gets to retake it due to encroachment ❌
53': Havertz scores ✅
At first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again. 📝 https://t.co/SNAcNAcORR
Dortmund were found to have encroached the box and Havertz made no mistake on the second bite of the cherry, sending the ball into the bottom-right corner to make it 2-0 for the Blues.
After the match, the former Bayer Leverkusen forward admitted he was nervous before taking the penalty for the second time. Speaking to the press, Havertz said (via Evening Standard):
“I don’t know anymore, I just thought ‘oh no’. But the referee let me retake the penalty. I was a bit nervous but at the end I scored and that was the most important."
“I tried to wait to look at the keeper and I saw that he was going to go again for that side. Obviously the second one was a bit easier."
Having lost the first-leg 1-0 in Dortmund, Chelsea needed to overturn the deficit in order to progress and were able to do exactly that to seal their place in the Champions League quarter-finals for the third year in a row.
The Blues return to action on Saturday against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in the Premier League.
Back-to-back wins for beleaguered Chelsea
After winning just once in 11 matches in all competitions since the turn of 2023, Chelsea have now won consecutively to ease some of the pressure on them.
The Blues overcame Leeds United 1-0 in the league on Saturday and have now seen off Dortmund in Europe to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since October.
CHELSEA TURN IT AROUND 🦁🔵 https://t.co/nCiIdcNMRf
It's also a huge relief for beleaguered manager Graham Potter, who has taken a lot of heat for his side's atrocious run of form. He earlier admitted to having received death threats from Chelsea fans.
Potter will hope to see his side continue in the same vein during the final stretch of their campaign.