The first leg of the round of 16 is over for Chelsea, and they came away with a 2-0 victory over the French side at Stamford Bridge. Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic were the goalscorers in a match where Chelsea did not look particularly great but worked hard to get a very solid result before they head to Lille for the second leg in three weeks time.
Striker Romelu Lukaku was dropped from the starting XI with Thomas Tuchel saying it was due to fatigue, although it is hard not to wonder if the Belgian having a career low seven touches last match had something to do with the decision. With Lukaku out of the lineup, Chelsea played with a false nine with Havertz, Pulisic, and Hakim Ziyech up top. While the Blues struggled to generate dangerous chances all match long, they were clinical with the limited opportunities. Kai Havertz headed home an early corner kick in the eighth minute, and the American captain secured a victory for Chelsea after a beautiful counterattack led by N’Golo Kante.
All match long, Chelsea looked very sturdy in the back, as Thiago Silva’s veteran experience in defense held Lille to two shots on target in the 90 minutes. While Chelsea have not been in fantastic form over the last several weeks, today’s match was evidence of the fact that they can continue to grind out results in tournaments. After getting a clean sheet today, an away goal should lock them in to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Tournaments are more suited to Chelsea’s style, as they find difficulty in generating a consistent goal output, which leads to too many draws in league play; however, in the Champions League, their stability in the backline and in net keeps them in every match. As long as Tuchel is in charge, Chelsea supporters should have confidence that the squad will be competitive deep into the tournament.
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