Tuchel's reaction
“It was brilliant, and so nice that so many [Chelsea] fans were here. We showed resilience and mentality and overcame difficulties. We did what was necessary. So well done to the team.
On playing on despite the sanctions: “Chelsea has this kind of culture. What I found from day one is this football-first mentality. This culture is already installed and this helps us when times are difficult ... I’m just a part of this. I feels good that we can still produce results, I’m very proud ... It’s a huge step to be in the last right again and we’re excited to be in the draw.”
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Azpilicueta's debrief
“It has not been a normal last few weeks but we have to deal with what’s in our hands, which is do the best we can. Tonight was a difficult game but we’re very happy to go through.” About his goal he chuckles and says “I just put out my leg and it went in off my knee.”
Full-time: Lille 1-2 Chelsea (agg: 1-4)
Chelsea amble through to Friday’s quarter-final draw. It looked like things would get complicated for them when Yilmaz scored from the penalty spot in the first half but Chelsea struck back quickly through Pulisic, and Azpilicueta settled it in the second half. Lille were valiant but ultimately Chelsea had too much for them. They won’t have home fans for the next round and they may have a new owner; but for now they still have their European crown. and it’ll take a very good team to take that off them this season.
90+2 min: Kante slips in Alonso. Jardim charges out to block the Spaniard’s shot from close range.
90+1 min: Ziyech splits the defence with a wonderful pass from deep. Alonso lopes on to it. Lukaku is racing through the centre, baying for a cross. Alonso tries to deliver but picks out the only defender instead. Lukaku is disgusted.
90 min: There will be at least four more minutes before Chelsea’s victory is confirmed.
87 min: Lille are still plugging away but Chelsea are fending them off quite easily now.
84 min: So Chelsea are on their way to the quarter-finals and remain one of the favourites to go all the way again. But how much does being unable to play their home matches with fans dent their chances?
82 min: Chelsea substitution: Ziyech on. Havertz off.
78 min: Lille substitutions: Ben Arfa, Bradaric and Gomes on , David, Bamba and Gudmundsson off.
76 min: Kante slides the ball through to Alonso on the left. The wingback tries to pick out Lukaku in the middle but overhits his cross.
74 min: Chelsea substitutions: Loftus-Cheek and Lukaku on, Jorginho and Pulisic off
GOAL! Lille 1-2 Chelsea (Azpilicueta 70) (Agg: 1-4)
A wonderful move by Chelsea concludes with a crossfield pass that is headed on to Mount wide on the left. Moutn curls over a vicious cross, and Azplicueta arrives at speed, just in front of the defender, meets the ball on the bounce and and guides a shot into the net from eight yards.! Chelsea are surely into the quarter-finals!
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68 min: This is not as comfortable for Chelsea as it should be. Lille still bristle with menace thanks, in particular, to the runs of Gudmundsson and Bamba and the power and nous of Yilmaz and David.
66 min: Mendy gets a telling off for taking too long to kick the ball out. But the keeper points out he was delayed because someone chucked something towards him from the crowd. The ref trots over and tosses the object back off the pitch, behind the goal.
63 min: Lille take a corner quickly. Yilaz curls over a sumptuous cross from the right. Chelsea are disorganised! Lille have two players free in the middle. One of them, Xeka, gets his head to a cross and sends it past Mendy from six yards ... but it cannons out off the post! What an escape for Chelsea!
62 min: Gudmundsson and Weah combine slickly down the left for Lille before GUdmunsson sends over a decent cross. Mount heads away.
60 min: Another break in play as Chalobah receives treatment after being caught by Yilmaz in an aerial duel.
59 min: Alonso bangs the freekick into the wall. The ball loops up into the air and falls to Rudiger, who tries to sweep it into the net on the half-volley from 20 yards. Good effort, just wide.
58 min: Pilisic wins a freekick in prime Alonso territory - about five yards outside the box, to the right.
56 min: Lille substitutions: Onana and Weah on, Botman and Celik off
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53 min: Well now. Botman is rubbing his buttocks: he appears to have picked up a strain and may not be able to continue.
52 min: Wonderful work on the right by Bamba, who bamboozles Alonso before clipping over another dangerous cross. Yilmaz leaps above Chalobah and gets a strong header on it from seven yards out. Mendy scrambles across his goal in a panic ... but the ball drifts just wide!
51 min: Andre hurtles down the right and digs out a useful cross. David gets free and jumps to meet it. But he can’t direct his header on the target.
48 min: Fonte catches Mount as the midfielder tried to play a one-two down the left with Havertz. Alonso curls in the freekick, but Azpilicueta is penalised for a foul in the box even before the ball reaches it.
46 min: Chelsea substitution: Mount on, Kovacic off.
Half-time: Lille 1-1 Chelsea (agg: 1-3)
The hope given to Lille by Yilmaz’s penalty didn’t last long. It would be a major shock if Chelsea let their two-goal advantage slip again now.
GOAL! Lille 1-1 Chelea (Pulisic 45+3) (agg: 1-3)
Brilliant goal! Chelea popped the ball around nicely, working it to Jorginho about 10 yards outside the Lille box. He spotted a clever run in from the right by Pulisic and stabbed the ball first-time into the path of the American, who kept his cool and fired low into the corner of the net from a tight angle. What a perfect way for Chelsea to end the half! Lille will be sickened.
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45 min: There will be at least three more minutes in this half
44 min: Alonso thrashes the freekick into the wall. He gets a corner out of it. Andre heads that away at the near post.
42 min: It’s Chelsea’s turn to press high: Azpilicueta and Havertz hassle Gudmundsson into losing possession and then giving away a freekick just outside his own box, to the right. Chelsea send up the big lads ...
40 min: That goal has infused Lille and their crowd with new belief. They’re swarming over Chelsea again whenever the visitors have the ball.
GOAL! Lille 1-0 Chelsea (Yilmaz pen 38) (agg: 1-2)
Yilmaz hammers the penalty high into the net, leaving Mendy absolutely no chance of stopping it. Game on!
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Penalty to Lille!
The ref looks at the screen and then points to the spot.
35 min: Bamba floats the freekick into the six-yard area. Mendy palms it away but not very far. Lille get it back into the danger zone and then ball pings around in there for a bit before being hoofed clear ... but did it touch Jorginho’s arm before being cleared? Yes, it did! But was it handball? The ref goes over to the pitchside monitor to get another look...
34 min: Chalobah’s first involvement is to be beaten by David and then booked for bringing down the Canadian! That gives Lille a freekick just outside the left-hand side of the box.
32 min: Chalobah isn’t on yet, so Chelea have to play with 10 men for a moment: that inspires Lille to crank up the tempo and see if they can make the most of their numerical advantage. They can’t, and now Chalobah is on.
31 min: Christensen appears to have picked up an injury. Chalobah is getting ready to replace him.
28 min: The crowd break into a fresh burst of song in an effort to rouse the home team, who are starting to be dictated to by Chelsea.
26 min: Chelsea are getting the upper hand as Lille’s intensity sags a little. Alonso curls a vicious cross in from the left, forcing Botman into an important clearance.
24 min: Another lovely run by Kovacic, but Havertz can’t get the ensuing pass under control, and a great chance goes begging.
22 min: Christensen gives the ball away in his own half ... but then Yilmaz does likewise to pardon the visitors.
20 min: A strong run down the left by Kovacic, who drives into the area before flipping it back for Pulisic, who then picks out Jorginho in the centre, just outside the box. But before he can do anything with it he is engulfed by Lille players, and a counter-attack is triggered. IT doesn’t amount to much, though.
18 min: Chelsea are trying to take charge, or at least sap the hosts’ enthusiasm, by keeping the ball. They do a good job of it until Djalo steps in to take it off Kante.
15 min: Bamba hoiks in a dangerous cross from the right. Azpilicueta jumps to kick clear before Gudmundsson can connect with it.
14 min: Pulisic skips down the left then aims a cross towards the back post. Djalo heads it to safety.
12 min: Chelsea sting together a sequence of passes but always under intense pressure - and as soon as they approach the Lille third of the pitch, they’re dispossessed.
10 min: Yilmaz bogs the freekick over the wall ... and way over the bar.
9 min: Terrific play by Lille! They’ve found real intensity and started to unsettle Chelsea. Then Christensen clumps into the back of David to concede a freekick in a dangerous position, just outside the D ...
7 min: Lille press high and Andre wins the ball off Jorginho mid-way inside the Chelsea half and feeds Yilmaz. The Turk lets fly from 20 yards, and his shot is deflected wide for a corner by Silva.
6 min: The crowd are still signing and hooting but Chelsea are doing their best to silence them, stroking the ball around with ominous authority.
4 min: Seconds after that last entry, Havertz tried to skin Botman down the right ... but the defender was wise to him and slid in to dispossess him.
4 min: Havertz has made a bright start: every touch of his so far has been classy.
2 min: Bamba’s in-swinging corner is headed away at the front post by Havertz.
1 min: Chelsea kick off and Lille immediately try to get the press on. Before even a minute has elapsed, Gudmundsson wins a corner for the hosts.
Out file the teams, greeted by an impressively loud crowd and some even more impressive giant banners depicting various totems of local pride and hope. Kit-wise, Lille are sporting their red shirts and dark blue shorts and socks, while Chelsea are in all yellow.
Tuchel's pre-match chat
“We focus on sport, that’s what we can influence and what we demand from ourselves. We have a responsibility to everybody who supports us and we have to fight to try to go through.”
Today’s referee, Davide Massa, is in hot water in Italy at the moment following a strange misjudgment last weekend when he was the VAR official for the Torino-Inter match (he advised the ref to overturn a penalty decision despite the foul being blatant); that followed other controversial decisions earlier this season, such as in the Napoli-Milan game. His performance today, then, will be under particular scrutiny.
In case you haven’t heard, you may be interested to know that earlier today Uefa announced that, as a result of sanctions imposed by the EU on Abramovich, the club will have to play behind closed doors at home for the rest of their Champions League campaign if they make it through today.
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Teams
The hosts have decided to start without Hatem Ben Arfa, who hasn’t really formed an effective understanding with Jonathan David. So the Canadian will instead be partnered up not by Buruk Yilmaz, who is almost exactly the opposite kind of player to Ben Arfa: strong, not very mobile but efficient. Meanwhile, Chelsea have gone for a particularly solid lineup.
Lille: Jardim; Fonte, Botman, Djalo; Zeki Celik, Bamba, Xeka, Andre, Gudmundsson; Yilmaz, David
Subs: Grbic, Raux, Ben Arfa, Lihadj, Gomes, Weah, Zhegrova, Onana, Bradaric
Chelsea: Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Kovacic, Jorginho, Alonso; Pulisic, Havertz
Subs: Kepa, Bettinelli, Sarr, Lukaku, Werner, Loftus-Cheek, Chalobah, Mount, Ziyech, Kenedy, Vale
Referee: D Massa (Italy)
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Preamble
Hello. Chelsea are still a football club. Indeed, they’re still the European and world club champions. The thing is, they won those titles because they have been bankrolled for nearly two decades by a ruthless tycoon with close ties to a despot who is currently killing lots of people and trying to bomb a European country into smithereens. Apparently that last bit is a step too far for the British government, who has suddenly decided it’s time to kick Roman Abramovich out of English football and more. Who knows whose clutches the club will fall into next? We’ll have to wait and see.
In the meantime, the side assembled with Abramovich’s money is still in the Champions League and aiming to retain that title. They go into today’s Last 16 second-leg with a 2-0 lead over Lille thanks to the victory earned at Stamford Bridge three weeks ago, when everything seemed so much simpler Chelsea. Can Lille complicate things further for them today? Probably not but they do have a sharp striker (Jonathan David), an accomplished centreback (Sven Botman) and a nifty creator (Hatem Ben Arfa) and people have to be able to hope.
