Lukaku Dropped As Chelsea Secure First-Leg UCL Win
23 February, 2022
Chelsea 2-0 LOSC Lille
Chelsea asserted their dominance in the UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 win over LOSC Lille in their last 16 first-leg tie at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Chelsea made three changes as Cesar Azpilicueta, Matteo Kovacic and Marcos Alonso replaced Jorginho, Ismaila Sarr and Romelu Lukaku on the bench. Meanwhile, Celik, Renato Sanches and Adamu Onana slotted into the Villareal side, with Angel Gomes, Gudmundsson and Burak Yilmaz making way.
Chelsea should have gone in front with just four minutes gone. Azpilicueta played a one-two with Hakim Ziyech before delivering a low cross into the box for Kai Havertz, who somehow put it over the bar from close range although he was on the stretch. The Blues were all over their opponents as Christian Pulisic took on the Lille defence and his slide-rule pass down the left released Havertz Havertz, whose curling strike was brilliantly turned past the post by Leo Jardim.
Thomas Tuchel's side got the opening goal they deserved in the eighth minute when Ziyech's excellent curling corner was headed down and into the ground by an unmarked Havertz before finding the top-left corner.
Havertz almost doubled the lead. Pulisic played in the Germany international, who raced into the final third and opened his body up before striking inches over the bar.
Pulisic was having a stormer and gave Tuchel's men their cushion in the 63rd minute. Ng'olo Kante sliced through the Lille midfield and laid it off to Pulisic, who took the ball in his stride and clipped it over the onrushing Jardim and into the back of the net.
Lille should have pulled one back ten minutes later when Botman rose highest in the box from a corner, but could only head straight at Edouard Mendy and in the end it resembled a rather comfortable victory for the Blues.
Villareal 1-1 Juventus
Villareal and Juventus could not be separated as the sides played to a 1-1 draw in their Champions League last 16 first-leg tie at El Madrigal on Tuesday.
Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri made three changes to his team as Danilo, Mattia De Sciglio and Weston McKennie came in for Lorenzo Pellegrini, Leonardo Bonucci and Paulo Dybala. Meanwhile, Unai Emery made seven with only Raul Torres, Dani Parejo, Arnaut Danjuma and Giovanni Lo Celso keeping their places in the starting lineup.
It was a breathtaking start to the match as Juve took the lead with just 32 seconds gone on the clock and it came from new signing Dusan Vlahovic on his Champions League debut. A simple long ball over the top from Danilo was controlled by the Serbian, whose shot on the turn nestled in the far corner.
Villareal responded with ferocity with a couple of excellent attempts. First, they hit the post in the 11th minute. Alberto Moreno played a throughball down the left and Danilo's clearance went straight to Alfonso Pedraza, who jinxed his way through a couple of defenders before laying it off to Giovanni Lo Celso in the middle, whose snapshot rattled the near post.
It was all Villareal as next Samuel Chukwueze dribbled past Mattia de Sciglio down the right before drilling it into the middle for Arnaut Danjuma, whose clever backheel was saved by Wojcech Szczesny.
El Submarino Amarillo were almost caught out on the counter started by Juan Cuadrado who delivered brilliantly for Alvaro Morata, whose first-time volley went just wide.
Emery's men deservedly equalised in the 66th minute when Ettiene Capoue's excellent delivery allowed an unmarked Dani Parejo to run onto it unnoticed and the veteran midfielder fired first-time past Wojcech Szczesny. Cuadrado skipped past Pervis Estupinan and cut it back to Vlahovic on the edge of the box, who knocked it past Pau Torres and unleashed a stinger that Geronimo Rulli got down sharply to keep out.
In the end a draw was a fair result as both sides went toe-to-toe for most of what was an entertaining encounter.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
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