AThanks to national player Kai Havertz, Chelsea FC and coach Thomas Tuchel have the best chance of reaching the quarter-finals in the Champions League. The club from London achieved a 2-0 (1-0) win in the round of 16 first leg against French champions OSC Lille. The Italian record champions Juventus Turin, on the other hand, have to worry about a place in the round of 16 after a 1-1 (1-0) draw at Spanish club FC Villarreal before the second leg on March 16th.
Havertz (8th) and former Dortmund player Christian Pulisic (63rd) gave Chelsea an almost optimal starting position for the trip to France. Chelsea’s opener meant the second goal of the current Champions League season for the former Leverkusen player.
In addition to Havertz, defender Antonio Rüdiger was also in the starting line-up in London. Timo Werner, on the other hand, only came into play for the last ten minutes. With Havertz playing the central role, Chelsea tried to clear things up early on at home at Stamford Bridge. The lead from a Havertz header following a corner by Hakim Ziyech was the Aachen-born’s third better chance to score.
In the second game after winning the club world championship title, the hosts with the advantage in their backs remembered for a long time to control the game. However, the French failed to create a serious chance against Chelsea’s compact defence, despite their big engagements before the break. After the change of sides, the picture was initially the same. The French ran, but did not embarrass Tuchel’s team. In the midst of Lille’s most energetic phase, Pulisic’s goal tipped the scales in Chelsea’s favour.
Dusan Vlahovic was even faster than Havertz for his new club Juventus Turin at FC Villareal. Vlahovic, who came from AC Fiorentina in the winter for around 70 million euros, scored the lead for Turin after just 31 seconds and thus surpassed the old record of Andy Möller’s starting XI debut. The 1990 World Champion scored the opening goal for Borussia Dortmund in the 3-1 draw against Juventus after 37 seconds on his debut in the premier class on September 13, 1995.
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