The Dortmund Curse — Chelsea Fans Confident Of UCL Final

Chelsea fans most times can be seen as an overtly superstitious bunch, but realistically, they do tend to be right when they bring up stats to stress the reasoning behind their point, and now it is the Dortmund curse the football world needs to contend with.

Chelsea fans are optimistic about their team’s chances of reaching the Champions League final after their dramatic victory over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. The match, which was held at Stamford Bridge, saw Chelsea chasing a goal to level the tie after losing the first leg 1-0 to Dortmund.

The Blues were on top from the start and Raheem Sterling scored just before half-time to ease the nerves of the home fans.

In the second half, Chelsea were given the chance to go ahead on aggregate after a handball by Dortmund’s Marius Wolf. Kai Havertz missed his initial penalty, hitting the post, but was given a second chance after a VAR check showed encroachment by Dortmund players. Havertz made no mistake with his second attempt, giving Chelsea a 2-0 lead on the night and a 2-1 lead on aggregate.

After the match, Chelsea fans began discussing the “Dortmund curse,” a theory that every team that has knocked Dortmund out of a European competition in the last four years has gone on to lose in the final. Tottenham Hotspur beat Dortmund in the Champions League in 2019 but lost to Liverpool in the final.

The following year, Paris Saint Germain suffered the curse and lost to Bayern Munich. Manchester City lost to Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final after beating Dortmund in the quarter-finals. Last year, Rangers’ impressive Europa League run ended with heartbreak after losing to Eintracht Frankfurt in the final; the Scottish club had knocked Dortmund out in the last 32.

Despite the optimism of Chelsea fans, it remains to be seen how far the team can go this season. However, their victory over Dortmund has put them in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and they will be hoping to continue their winning run in the competition.