Thanks in part to national soccer player Kai Havertz, defending champion FC Chelsea and his German team manager Thomas Tuchel have taken the first step towards the quarter-finals in the Champions League.
In the round of 16 first leg against the French champions OSC Lille, the English club world champions won 2-0 (1-0) with a goal from the ex-Leverkusener (8th) and another goal from the former Dortmund player Christian Pulisic (63rd). This put the Blues in a promising position for the second leg on March 16 (Wednesday).
In addition to Havertz, defender Antonio Rüdiger was also in the starting eleven from the German national team trio. Striker Timo Werner, on the other hand, had to sit on the bench, as did “problem child” Romelu Lukaku.
With Havertz in Lukaku’s role as the central leader, Chelsea tried to clear things up early on at home at Stamford Bridge. The lead from a Havertz header after a corner by Hakim Ziyech was the Aachen native’s third better chance to score. Havertz scored his second goal of the current Champions League season.
In the second game after winning the world title, the hosts, with the lead behind them, limited themselves to controlling the game for a long time. The guests, on the other hand, one of the stumbling blocks for Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg in the preliminary round, acted courageously and strived for an equalizer. However, the French didn’t create a real chance against Chelsea’s compact defense before the break.
After the change of sides, the picture was initially the same. The French ran, but did not embarrass Tuchel’s team. In the middle of Lille’s most energetic phase, after a previous counterattack by Havertz, the decision went in Chelsea’s favour: N’Golo Kante put on for Pulisic after a fine pass from Thiago Silva in his own half and a run to the guests’ penalty area, and the US National player completed safely.
Lille also fought for the important goal afterwards. But as the game went on, the OSC actions against the sovereign Britons, in which Werner came into play for the last ten minutes, lost more and more precision and determination.