Chelsea could use Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic to score goals while Romelu Lukaku, who is still a misfiring Romelu, rests.
London’s club continued its Champions League defense with a 2-0 win over Lille on Tuesday. This gave them control of the round 16 matchup for next month’s second leg.
Enjoying an aggressive role, Havertz only took eight minutes to get Chelsea ahead by meeting Hakim Ziyech in the corner.
Havertz stated that “we have a lot good strikers so it is good to have a chance and not make things easy for the opposition.” “Today it worked well and I enjoy every forward role.”
N’Golo Kante’s dynamism allowed for the second goal in the 63rd minutes. He ran half of the pitch without being challenged before giving Pulisic a shot to the bottom corner.
Pulisic stated that N’Golo drives like that so it’s only a matter of keeping up with him. “And I was able to do that and finish it off.”
Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea manager, was particularly impressed by Kante’s contribution.
Tuchel stated, “He’s struggled to believe and intensity in recent matches so he stepped up today.” “You can see the impact he makes when he is in good health.”
Chelsea’s win was easy and reflected their current status. Chelsea is third in Premier League. Lille is middle-table for its French title defense.
Jonathan David, Lille forward, stated that “we lacked some quality in the last ball and that cost us,”
Tuchel claimed that fatigue was the reason Lukaku was left out, the club record $135 million offseason signing who touched only seven balls in Saturday’s win over Crystal Palace. Lukaku did not make it to Lille.
Tuchel stated that after the match, where everyone was focused only on his few touches, it wasn’t the time to give him in the next fire. It was the right time to step back. That was the decision.
“We now have a strong win, and a strong performance. “We have had a win, and all the questions remain about Romelu. So the focus is on now.
It’s much easier to rest Lukaku if there is another forward worth more than $90 million that you can rely on. Havertz was also the winner of Chelsea’s Champions League final. He also scored the goal that secured the Club World Cup title earlier in the month.
Tuchel stated, “He has really stepped-up.” His work rate is incredible, and the volume and areas of pitch that he covers is very, very high. He was decisive again, he made chances, got involved, and was not afraid to defend.
“We played with an aggressive high line with Hakim and all three offensive players together. They all performed very well in the match, and it was important for the formation to maintain intensity and a high level of work.
The night’s second leg saw DusanVlahovic score 31 seconds into his Champions League debut. Juventus drew 1-1 at Villarreal. Dani Parejo levelled the match in the second half.
