Chelsea showed they can thrive without Romelu Lukaku as Kai Havertz scored after replacing the axed Belgium striker for the 2-0 Champions League Last-16, first-leg win against Lille on Tuesday. Thomas Tuchel’s side took control of the tie thanks to Havertz’s first-half header and Christian Pulisic’s clinical finish after the break at Stamford Bridge.
The holders will expect to complete their progress to the quarter-finals when they travel to France for the second leg on March 16. But Chelsea’s sixth successive win in all competitions was more a referendum on their Lukaku conundrum than an indication of their chances of retaining the trophy.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel
Lukaku conundrum
Lukaku has scored just 10 goals since a club record £97 million move from Inter Milan last year that was expected to launch a period of sustained dominance for Chelsea. He touched the ball only seven times in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, the lowest total by a Premier League player since 2003-04.
Despite being infuriated in December by Lukaku’s public questioning of the way he was being used, Tuchel had appeared to back, insisting his problems were no laughing matter. But, tellingly, Chelsea were more potent in Lukaku’s absence and it remains to be seen if Tuchel will trust his beleaguered star in the League Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday.
High on ammunition
At least Tuchel knows Chelsea have the ammunition to damage opponents while their supposed leading man labours. “For Kai, I’m very pleased. He’s been very strong for several weeks now. He stepped up well. The work rate is immense. He is never shy of defending,” Tuchel said. “Romelu struggled in the last game to deliver. Not only mentally tired, but physically, which I can understand. It was the moment to take a step back. Today, we went with other players. For Sunday we have four days to recover and decide who plays.”
Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi paraded the Club World Cup before kick-off. However, that victory in Abu Dhabi will be only a footnote in the story of Chelsea’s season if they don’t mount a strong finish to the campaign. This was a step in the right direction.
Six
No. of successive wins Chelsea have notched up across competitions this season
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