No, it was not a real challenge for Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Lille. The London team did not face a challenge and was always in control. The only flaw on the part of the British: 2-0 is not enough, in the end they did not create enough chances.
Havertz shine
Kai Havertz is someone who can evade these allegations to some extent. The 22-year-old German, who was favored on Storm Tank Romelu Lukaku for 90 minutes as “False 9”, put in an astonishing performance. Already after 4 minutes he first looked dangerous in front of Lille goalkeeper Leo Jardim, and again 4 pointer revolutions later defeated the Brazilian. A 7-yard pass from Hakim Ziyech’s corner gave Chelsea the lead.
Since then, Lille has defended itself more, but the French could not become really dangerous for their opponent from the island. The bets were there. However, the accuracy was lacking in the last two metres, which is why there was no danger in front of Chelsea goalkeeper Edward Mendy.
Pulisic accomplished
In the second half, Chelsea turned up the heat again and pushed towards the second goal. After unsuccessful attempts by Marcos Alonso and Haverts, Christian Pulisic finally managed to score 2-0. The American used a typical pass for the French N’Golo Kante.
Not many nights came. Just this: former Basel player Edon Zigrova came in to replace the guests from the 81st minute onwards. Teammate and birthday boy Tim Weah have yet to be replaced. Why is this worth mentioning? The number 22 became the night of 22 on this day in the special date (22.22.
Judging from the first leg, the north of France will likely be hoping for gifts from Chelsea in the second match on March 16 if they still want a chance to reach the quarter-finals.
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