‘Defending champion’ Chelsea win 2-0 over Lille… Green light for UCL quarterfinals

‘Defending champion’ Chelsea (England) won the first match with Lille (France) and occupied an advantageous position to advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

Chelsea played against Lille at Stamford Bridge, London, England on the morning of the 23rd (Korea time) in the first leg of the 2021-2022 season UEFA Champions League (UCL) round of 16 first leg match between Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic in the first half. They scored a goal to win 2-0.

With this, Chelsea will be able to continue their challenge of winning the tournament for the second time in a row by reaching the quarterfinals even if they lose by one goal in the second leg of the away game to be held on the 17th of next month.

Chelsea took the lead early in the morning with a goal from Havertz, who was the front-line striker.

Havertz, who could not make use of the previous two goalscoring opportunities, broke the balance by headering a cross from Hakim Ziyech in front of the goal from a left corner kick in the 8th minute of the first half.

Chelsea swept their chests in the 11th minute as they nearly scored an own goal from Antonio Rudiger while trying to kick off a cross from their opponent Renato Sanchez.

After that, Lille counterattacked, but it went to nothing, with Jonas David’s shot flying over the goal.

Lille led Chelsea 9-4 in shooting in the first half, but fell 1-3 in shots on target.

Chelsea faced an injury variable in the second half.

Midfielders Mateo Kovacic and Ziyech were injured in a row, and in the 6th minute of the second half, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and in the 15th minute of the second half, Saul Niguez came in as substitutes.

Chelsea, who continued their uneasy lead, succeeded in putting the game on hold in the 18th minute of the second half.

In the counter-attacking situation, N’Golo Kante drove the ball and gave it to Pulisic, who was rushing to the left of the penalty area, and Pulisic finished with his right foot to put a wedge.

After that, Lille used a substitute card and tried to make up for even one goal, but the Chelsea goal could not be opened.

Juventus (Italy) also drew 1-1 against Villarreal (Spain) in an away match against Dushan Vlahovic’s ‘Lightning Goal’.

Juventus took the lead 31 seconds after the kick-off whistle was blown by Vlahovic’s goal.

Danilo raised a long ball near the half line, and Vlahovic competed with two opposing defenders to trap it from the right inside the penalty area to his chest, and then opened the goal with a right footed shot.

In the winter transfer window last month, Juventus agreed to pay Fiorentina (Italy) up to 80 million euros (about 18 billion won), including a transfer fee of 70 million euros and a 10 million euro bonus based on performance, and signed Serbia national striker Vlahovic. It was his Champions League debut.

However, Juventus could not keep the lead.

In the 21st minute of the second half, Villarreal Etienne Cafu’s cross from the left flank went into the front of the goal area, and Dani Parejo opened it up with a left-footed nonstop shot.

[사진 출처 : EPA=연합뉴스]