Champion Chelsea beats Lille without Lukaku (2-0)

Chelsea, the current European champion, got one foot into the quarterfinals of the Champions League after imposing their favorite status against Lille at Stamford Bridge (2-0) thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic.

Thomas Tuchel ‘punished’ Romelu Lukaku, who on Saturday only touched 7 balls against Crystal Palace, the worst record since this statistic has been recorded since 2003, and left him on the bench alongside Timo Werner. But, without the Belgian or the German, Chelsea only needed eight minutes to score thanks to Kai Havertz, their best player against Lille

At the third Havertz does not forgive

In a hectic start to the game, the former Bayer Leverkusen player had already had two clear chances to open the scoring. In the 4th minute, Havertz missed his shot on goal following a great pass from César Azpilicueta and, in the 7th minute, his cross shot was saved by goalkeeper Leo Jardim.

But in the ensuing corner, at the third, Havertz no longer forgave and nailed his header to the center of Hakim Ziyech (8′). The German was once again a decisive player for Chelsea, as he was with his goals against Manchester City and Palmeiras in the last Champions League and Club World Cup finals.

Lille reacts but lacks punch

Lille, placed in a disappointing 11th place after winning Ligue 1 last season, did not give up at 1-0 and helped the first half unfold with a lot of intensity, rhythm and precision in the passes by both teams although the chances were few except for a volley by Marcos Alonso that Leo Jardim saved (18′).

The French responded to Chelsea’s electric football through Renato Sanches, who always intervened judiciously, supported by Jonathan Bamba. Meanwhile, Havertz deployed his repertoire of resources every time his teammates managed to contact him.

After the break, the game did not change its scenery. Marcos Alonso was once again about to score when a ball fell to him at the far post, but full-back Zeki Çelik, providential, took his cross shot (54′).

Against Kanté and Pulisic sentence

Chelsea suffered two setbacks in a row losing Mateo Kovacic and Ziyech due to injury, who was relieved by Saúl Ñíguez, but took aim at Lille, who had equalized possession, surprising them in a counter led by N’Golo Kanté. The tireless French midfielder attracted the defenders before leaving Christian Pulisic alone with his assist, who crossed perfectly before Leo Jardim’s exit (63′).

A header from the coveted central defender Sven Botman at the hands of Édouard Mendy, who ended up with a clean sheet in 13 of his 18 Champions League games, was the only shot with some danger from a Lille whose scorer, Jonathan David, went unnoticed and was substituted . The lack of punch condemned the French champion against a more forceful and effective Chelsea.