Chelsea came out on top of after an intense game which saw lethally fast football. Chelsea opened their scoring with the silky German, Kai Havertz, heading home a corner.
Kai Havertz was one of the three changes made to the line-up that faced Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, and he replaced Romelu Lukaku. Coach, Thomas Tuchel, said exhaustion was one of the reasons why he decided to drop Lukaku. Lukaku featured in both the Club World Cup games since coming back from injury.
Chelsea started the game with a lot of intensity and aggression, which was opposite to their start against Palace over the weekend. This intensity helped them as it built pressure on the Lille defenders and gave Chelsea a lot of early chances.
Havertz came very close in the 3rd minute as he missed an easy chance after a sumptuous pass into the box from captain Caesar Azpilicueta. He also came close in the 7th minute after a one-two-one with Christian Pulisic but the Lille keeper, Leonardo, sent it to a corner.
Hakim Ziyech took the corner as Havertz ran through the defenders to slot home the first of the game.
Although Chelsea had the lead, Lille slowly started to slow down the Blue’s pace as they maintained shape and controlled more of the ball. N’Golo Kante and Renato Sanchos are the standout performers of the first half.
Ziyech, who gave the first assist, had to be subbed off due to a leg problem. This injury could not have come at a worse time as he was just getting back to form, with three goals in three Premier League games.
The Blues dominated the 2nd half with the help of fresh legs, but mainly because of the machine, Kante. He intercepted almost every loose pass Lille gave and looked lethal as he tried to push forward every time he intercepted. Like usual, he was everywhere.
He also set up the 2nd goal in the 63rd minute. He stole the ball and immediately shifted gears, stepping away from Lille defenders. As he made his run towards the box, Pulisic made a blistering run from his left. Kante set Pulisic up, who took a touch and curled the ball in to make it 2-0.
Edouard Mendy was barely challenged as all the Lille attempts were far away from goal. Another cleansheet makes this his 5th cleansheet in 6 games this campaign.
Overall, it was a good UCL night for the Blues as they pressed throughout the game and did not lose focus. The 2 goal cushion going into the return leg is more than enough for Chelsea to qualify for the quarter finals.
