Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic scored as Chelsea eased past Lille in their Champions League first tie at Stamford Bridge.
Kai Havertz who led Chealsea’s attacking line in absence of the benched Romelu Lukaku, gave Chelsea the lead within the first 10 minutes of the contest before Christian Pulisic doubled the score after the hour mark.
Chelsea looked threatening from the very first whistle and Thomas Tuchel’s side managed to capitalize on their early pressure through Havertz after just eight minutes. Chelsea won a corner and Hakim Ziyech sent a through ball into the box which Havertz headed into the net after missing two chances early on.
Pulisic then doubled Chelsea’s lead on 63 minutes when N’Golo Kante played the ball off to Pulisic on the edge of the box and the USMNT star struck it past Leo Jardim in the Lille goal.
In Champions Leagues’ other game of the night, Dusan Vlahovic scored the quickest-ever Champions League goal by a debutant starter as Juventus and Villarreal drew 1-1 at Estadio de la Cerámica
Weston McKennie went close to adding a second for Juve on 38 minutes but saw his effort blocked by Villarreal defender Raul Albiol.
Juventus, who have been eliminated at the round of 16 to Lyon and FC Porto in the past two seasons, failed to add to their early advantage and allowed Villarreal back into the game.
Unai Emery’s side then leveled the game on 66 minutes when Dani Parejo finished from close range after being played in by Etienne Capoue
Adrien Rabiot was lucky to stay on the field as he picked up just a yellow card for a horror challenge on Samuel Chukwueze in the 73rd minute.
But Juventus suffered another setback as McKennie was forced off with an ankle injury eight minutes later.
After the match, it was reported that McKennie suffered fractures to the second and third metatarsals in his left foot, which will leave him sidelined for 8-12 weeks putting him out of contention for the return leg that takes place on March 16 at Juve’s Allianz Stadium.
