Maybe this will be the turning point for under-fire Chelsea manager Graham Potter.

He went into Tuesday’s game against Borussia Dortmund with questions hanging over his future. Now he has the Champions League quarter finals to look forward to.

Kai Havertz’ twice-taken penalty secured a 2-0 win in front co-owner Todd Boehly at Stamford Bridge to ease the pressure on Potter and spark celebrations inside the stadium rarely seen during such a troubled campaign.

Chelsea advanced 2-1 on aggregate after having trailed 1-0 from the round-of-16 first leg in Dortmund last month.

“We have been through a tough period and this competition means a lot for us,” Potter said.

“We wanted to get into the last-eight and it sets us up for the next few weeks.”

There certainly were positives for Potter to take from the most important win of his early reign.

Not only did his team show the character to recover from losing the first leg, they did so by scoring two goals in a game for the first time in 2023.

Following Saturday’s 1-0 win against Leeds, this is the first time Chelsea has recorded back-to-back victories since October.

Notably, it was also a night when Potter’s luck may have turned, with VAR playing a major role in the Havertz winner after Raheem Sterling had lashed the 2021 European champions ahead on the night in the 43rd minute.

Referee Danny Makkelie was instructed to take a second look at a handball by Marius Wolf, which prompted the official to award a spot-kick.

Havertz stepped up, sent Alexander Meyer the wrong way, but saw his shot come back off the post and cleared.

As Dortmund celebrated, VAR got to work again — this time spotting an encroachment in the box, which meant the kick had to be retaken.

Havertz repeated his technique, sent Meyer in the opposite direction again, but on this occasion, he found the back of the net to put Chelsea in front in the 53rd.

“I don’t know what I was thinking but the referee let me retake the penalty,” he said.

“I was a bit nervous but I scored. I tried to wait and look at the keeper and the second one was a bit easier.”

Potter admitted he couldn’t watch the second penalty.

A run of just two wins in 12 had increased speculation about his future, and elimination from the Champions League would have placed further scrutiny on his position.

Chelsea had rediscovered that winning feeling just in time for the biggest night of his early reign.

Chelsea ended their six-game winless run with victory against Leeds on Saturday, but the pressure was still on the manager given the manner in which the season has unravelled since October.

Ramos nets brace

Clinical Benfica thrashed shell-shocked Club Brugge 5-1 with two goals from striker Goncalo Ramos to knock out the Belgian side and reach the quarter finals 7-1 on aggregate at the Estadio da Luz.

Led by a tireless Joao Mario, who netted a late penalty, and the in-form Ramos, Benfica showed exactly why they are seen in Portugal as the country’s best side since Jose Mourinho’s Porto were crowned European champions 19 years ago.

“We have one objective and it’s winning every game we play going forward,” Rafa Silva told Eleven Sports.