IT looked like Chelsea had booked their spot in the Champions League Round of 16 until Lille gave them a fright late on.
The game should already have been put to bed when Loic Remy’s strike crashed in off the crossbar against his former side to put the Ligue 1 team back into the contest.
Tammy Abraham opened the scoring for Chelsea after just 19 minutesCredit: EPA
The Blues had been dominant and could have been further ahead, but Stamford Bridge was nervy in the final stages, as a Lille equaliser would have sent Chelsea crashing out.
Frank Lampard’s side managed to hold out, however, but will have to be more clinical if they are to make an impact on this tournament post-Christmas.
SunSport’s Etienne Fermie runs the rule over how Chelsea’s stars performed.
KEPA ARRIZABALAGA – 5
No chance for Loic Remy’s goal, otherwise didn’t have much to do.
CESAR AZPILICUETA – 7
Lovely near post header to put Chelsea 2-0 up. Got to the byline well and spent a lot of his time in Lille’s final third. Beaten a little easily by Bamba in the build-up to Remy’s goal.
ANTONIO RUDIGER – 7
Mostly unchallenged until late on, on his eagerly-awaited return to the team. Absolutely brilliant challenge to halt Araujo’s mazy run in the second half.
KURT ZOUMA – 6
Booked after a collision with Mike Maignan right at the end of the first half. Quiet evening.
EMERSON PALMIERI – 7
Unlucky to be denied by a brilliant Maignan save in the first half. His whipped near post corner put Azpilicueta’s header on a plate.
Willian put in a good performance as Chelsea booked their spot in the last-16Credit: Getty – Contributor
MATEO KOVACIC – 6
Harassed the right side of Lille’s defence and didn’t give them a moment’s peace. Lost the ball a few more times than he’d have liked.
JORGINHO – 7
Quietly pulled the strings for Chelsea. Lots of interceptions and smart passes. Subtly ran the show.
N’GOLO KANTE – 7
Constant nuisance going forward. Lovely chest down in the build up to Abraham’s goal. His link ups with Willian and dogged pressing on the right hand side caused Lille all sorts of problems.
WILLIAN – 7
Brilliant dart to the byline before laying on a tap in for Tammy Abraham. A constant menace for former Southampton man Pied. So hard to stop when he gets his head down and runs at you.
TAMMY ABRAHAM – 7
Some great centre forward play. Gratefully accepted his tap in to give Chelsea the lead. A nuisance to the Lille centre backs. Another decent outing for the young England forward.
CHRISTIAN PULISIC – 7
Flashed a decent chance wide early on. Worried Celik with his direct running and close control.
SUBSTITUTES:
Hudson-Odoi (for Pulisic, 62nd minute) – 5
Absolutely anonymous after coming on.
Batshuayi (for Abraham, 72nd minute) – 5
Fizzed a volley on the turn just over in the latter stages.
Mount (for Kovacic, 82nd minute) – 5
Unable to make a huge impact – the match had gotten frantic by the time he came on.
Kepa could not stop Loic Remy’s strike in the 78th minuteCredit: Getty – Contributor
Chelsea flop Bakayoko forgets his shirt number and mistakenly think he’s being subbed
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
