Chelsea top Atlético in Champions League

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP):

Olivier Giroud's bicycle-kick goal awarded after video review gave Chelsea a 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League yesterday.

It took nearly three minutes for Giroud and his teammates to be able to celebrate the important 68th-minute away goal that was initially disallowed for offside.

Giroud was clearly in front of the defenders when he pulled off his acrobatic overhead shot, but VAR determined that the ball came from Atletico defender Mario Hermoso, thus annulling the offside.

Atletico were the home team but the match was played in Bucharest, Romania, because of travel restrictions preventing visitors from Britain entering Spain.

The second leg will be on March 17 in London.

In the other round-of-16 match on Tuesday, Bayern Munich defeated Lazio 4-1 in Italy.

It was the second consecutive loss for Atletico after a seven-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. It was also the eighth straight game in which the Spanish club has conceded a goal, extending its worst run without a clean sheet since coach Diego Simeone arrived in late 2011.

"It's been a difficult week but we have to keep competing," Atletico midfielder Koke Resurreccion said. "We have to raise our heads and try to win the second leg. There's no other option for us."