Chelsea blank Lille 2-0

February 23, 2022
Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during yesterday’s Champions League round of 16 match against Lille.
Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during yesterday’s Champions League round of 16 match against Lille.

LONDON (AP):

Chelsea could rely on Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz for goals with misfiring Romelu Lukaku rested.

The London club resumed their Champions League title defence by cruising to a 2-0 victory over Lille yesterday to take control of the round-of-16 matchup.

Havertz took only eight minutes to head Chelsea in front by meeting Hakim Ziyech's corner.

Christian Pulisic latched on to N'Golo Kante's pass with a clipped effort in the 63rd minute to ensure Chelsea have a two-goal cushion to take into the second leg next month in France.

The ease of Chelsea's victory reflected their status this season. While Chelsea are third in the Premier League, Lille are mid-table in their French title defence.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said fatigue was the reason for leaving out Lukaku, the club-record $135 million offseason signing who touched the ball only seven times in Saturday's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. Lukaku didn't come off the bench against Lille.

"He looked a little exhausted and you have to consider that he's played a lot," Tuchel said.

In the day's other game Dusan Vlahovic needed just 31 seconds to show Europe why Juventus chose him to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Serbia striker had a dream debut scoring a superb goal after his first contact with the ball in a 1-1 draw at Villarreal.

His goal had the elements of strikes that only players of Ronaldo's calibre can pull off, combining power, a sense of the moment and that extra dose of confidence that means no scoring chance, however slim, should go to waste. Dani Parejo levelled for Villarreal in the 66th minute, leaving the playoff poised for the decider in Italy with the away-goal rule scrapped this season.

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