KAI HAVERTZ did in five what Romelu Lukaku could not do in seven.
And the German is not even a striker.
Havertz scored the goal which put Chelsea in command of a tricky Champions League clash with his fifth touch of the ball.
A stark contrast to Lukaku’s dismal failure last weekend at Crystal Palace when he connected with the ball just seven times in 90 minutes.
He was relegated even further to a mere spectator as he sat and watched from the bench as Havertz produced an energetic performance as a so-called ‘false nine’ and continued his scoring run.
He followed on from netting the goal which crowned Chelsea as Club World Cup winners with a header on eight minutes against the stubborn French champions.
Whilst it did not trigger the goal-rush boss Thomas Tuchel hoped for, it was enough of a platform for Christian Pulisic to build a decent first leg lead with the second in the 63rd minute.
And it means they go to France for the second leg next month as firm favourites to reach the last eight in their defence of their European title.
Whilst it was not a vintage display and Tuchel’s team were at times the architects of their own nervy moments, they held on and with a clean sheet as an added bonus should proceed to the quarter-finals.
Before kick-off the Blues took a moment to parade the newly-acquired trophy, yet another bauble to add to the collection, but nowhere near as high on the list of objectives as retaining the Champions League.
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It was at this point last year that Tuchel came in at Chelsea. His first European game as manager was a 1-0 away win at Atletico Madrid 364 days prior to last night’s fixture.
He has stamped his mark on the club in many ways since then but the search for a striker of consistent quality is one area still causing problems.
Hence the decision to drop Lukaku to the bench as his £97million striker and English football struggle to find common ground.
There were calls in the House of Commons yesterday to sanction Chelsea’s billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich over his country’s incursion into Ukraine.
Red Rom is sweating on his London investments, while Blue Rom is having his assets squeezed by Tuchel.
Just 24 hours before kick off, there was a vow to ‘protect our player’ in a meaningful address by the boss as he claimed to be on Lukaku’s side during a dip in form.
If axing your record signing is protection then Tuchel is playing mind games with the man who has cost Abramovich £9.7m a goal this season.
He happily resisted the temptation to bring Lukaku off the bench to press home the advantage with Chelsea two-up. Instead Timo Werner, another forward failing to find form in front of goal, got a run out at the end of the night.
There will still be questions from the boss regarding the way his team failed to finish off a team sitting 11th in the French League and a pale shadow of that which swept to their title last season.
And as controlling as Chelsea were, Lille at times probed and prodded and were it not for a sterling display from the ageless Thiago Silva at the back, it could have been a much more uncomfortable night for them.
After such a blistering start with the early goal from Havertz and an opening salvo of energetic football and gusto, Chelsea fizzled out and half-time arrived as a relief and a chance to regroup.
The anticipated blitz on the Lille goal at the start of the second half barely flickered and the hosts were dealt another blow to their confidence and their shape when key men Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech were forced off with injuries within a seven-minute spell.
It is a worry for the Blues with the League Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday.
Havertz was ploughing on up front and did go close with a shot on the run in the 58th-minute, just as Ziyech was being carted off, but it looked like being a frustrating night for the European champions.
That was until N’Golo Kante suddenly exploded forwards through the middle of the pitch as fast as his little legs could carry him.
From centre circle to the edge of the Lille area, the crowd behind the goal in the Matthew Harding stand were sucking him towards the net, but the composed Frenchman resisted the urge to shoot with a clever lay off to the left.
And from there American striker Pulisic arrived to plant a shot in the back of the net after which Stamford Bridge celebrated with an equal mix of celebration and relief.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
