Chelsea vs Lille LIVE: Champions League result and final score as Pulisic and Havertz goals give Blues lead
Reaction as Chelsea resumed the defence of their Champions League title at home to Lille in the last-16
Goals in each half from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic earned defending champions Chelsea a solid 2-0 last-16 first-leg victory over Lille in the Champions League on Tuesday, but the London side will be concerned about injuries to key players.
Havertz, who had already had two attempts on goal early in the game, headed down a Hakim Ziyech corner in the eighth minute and the ball bounced high off the turf into the net.
Chelsea left struggling striker Romelu Lukaku on the bench and it was Pulisic who hit the second in the 63rd minute with a curling finish after N’Golo Kante’s surging run and pinpoint pass.
Ligue 1 champions Lille, who topped their qualifying group ahead of Salzburg, VfL Wolfsburg and Sevilla, kept Chelsea busy going forward with buzzing runs from Renato Sanches, Benjamin Andre and Jonathan Bamba.
But efforts from all three and from Canadian striker Jonathan David were either blocked, usually by defensive rock Thiago Silva, or collected easily by Edouard Mendy in the Chelsea goal.
Chelsea, who face Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday, may be satisfied with taking a two-goal lead to Lille for the second leg on March 16. But they will be concerned for the fitness of pivotal midfielder Mateo Kovacic and of in-form Ziyech who both limped off early in the second half.
Chelsea vs Lille: Line-ups
Chelsea XI: Mendy, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Kante, Kovacic, Alonso, Ziyech, Havertz, Pulisic
Lille XI: Jardim, Celik, Fonte, Botman, Djalo, Onana, Andre, Xeka, Bamba, David, Renato Sanches
Chelsea vs Lille: Chelsea’s opponents
Last season Lille won the 2020/21 Ligue 1 title from PSG by a single point, thanks in part to striker Burak Yilmaz who was their main attacking threat, scoring 16 goals under the shrewd management of Christophe Galtier.
Galtier left for Nice in the summer and Lille, who also lost a number of regular starters following their title triumph, have struggled to replicate last season’s feats this time around.
They are in the bottom half of Ligue 1 and have lost two and drawn one of their past four top-flight matches.
Chelsea vs Lille: History on Chelsea’s side
Chelsea have a great record in competitive matches against teams from France. They have only lost one of the last 10 home matches against French teams, with six wins and three draws.
Also, only three coaches have a higher success rate in Champions League knockout ties than Thomas Tuchel’s eight wins from 11: Vicente del Bosque (8/10), Josef Heynckes (12/14) and Zinedine Zidane (14/16).
Chelsea vs Lille: Routes to the knockout stages
A defeat to Juventus on matchday 2 and a 3-3 draw with Zenit St. Petersburg in their last group stage game meant that Chelsea only finished second in Group H. They could have faced opponents such as Bayern Munich in the last 16 but were twice drawn out to face Lille in the first round of the knockout stages. It’s a nice draw for Chelsea but they will have to play well tonight to ensure they take a lead into the return leg.
Lille took two points from their first three Champions League group stage games before ending the group stages with a three-game winning streak to take top spot in Group G. They’ll bring a bit of momentum to the knockout stages but face a difficult match ahead of them tonight against the reigning champions at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea vs Lille: Injuries and absentees
Mason Mount will not feature in Chelsea’s round of 16 first leg against Lille tonight after injuring his ankle at the Club World Cup. Mount has returned to training but this game comes too soon for him to reach match fitness.
Reece James and Ben Chilwell remain sidelined and Callum Hudson-Odoi is a doubt due to an Achilles problem but Cesar Azpilicueta should be fit after a groin problem.
Has Lukaku been dropped?
Reports circulating this evening suggest Romelu Lukaku has been dropped from the Chelsea team after his ineffective recent displays – a big call by Thomas Tuchel if that is the case, leaving out his £100m summer signing from this Champions League knockout tie.
Full line-ups and team news coming up shortly.
Good evening
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of tonight’s Champions League action as Chelsea are host Lille at Stamford Bridge. The Blues finished runners-up to Juventus in Group H so begin their knockout campaign at home to French champions Lille, who topped a group containing Red Bull Salzburg, Sevilla and Wolfsburg to reach the last-16.
Since defeating Manchester City in last season’s Champions League final in Lisbon, Tuchel’s side have added Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup titles to their trophy cabinet. Chelsea returned from Abu Dhabi, where a Kai Havertz penalty sealed a victory over Palmeiras as the Blues became world champions for the first time, to defeat Crystal Palace on Saturday in the Premier League.
Hakim Ziyech struck a late winner at Selhurst Park but Romelu Lukaku again found himself in the headlines after an anonymous performance against the Eagles, as the striker’s struggles since arriving at Stamford Bridge on a club-record deal last summer continued. Tuchel used his pre-match press conference to defend Lukaku in what is an important week for Chelsea, with the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool to come on at Wembley on Sunday.
“It’s of course not what we want and not what Romelu wants,” Tuchel said. “But it’s also not the time to laugh about him, make jokes about him. He’s in the spotlight of course, and we will protect him.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies