Chelsea players celebrated with their fans before the start of the Lille match currently held in the Club World Cup, and a number of Blues stars toured the stadium in one of the celebrations of the Champions League final in the World Cup.
The English team Chelsea ended the first half against its French counterpart Lille, leading 1-0 in the match currently being held at “Stamford Bridge”, in the first leg of the sixteenth round of the Champions League for the current season 2021-2022.
The first half goal came through Kai Havertz in the eighth minute through a header after a distinctive cross from Hakim Ziyech’s corner, as the player plays his 50th game with Chelsea.
Chelsea faced Lille in the Champions League twice in the group stage of the 2019/2020 season, and the champions of the last edition managed to win both of them.
Chelsea scored 4 goals against Lille, while the French club scored two goals, and Tammy Abraham, the former London striker, is the historical scorer for the two teams’ meetings with two goals
Chelsea have faced French teams in the Champions League 18 times, winning nine matches, losing five, and drawing four times.
Chelsea’s line-up against Lille is as follows:
Goalkeeper: Edward Mendy.
Defense Line: Antonio Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Thiago Silva.
Midfield: Kante, Kovacic, Pulisic, Alonso.
Forwards: Ziyech, Haveritz.
Chelsea’s substitutes against Lille are as follows: Kepa, Jorginho, Lukaku, Werner, Loftus-Cheek, Chalubah, Saul, Mason Mount, Kennedy, Sarr, Vale, Bentley.
While the formation of the Lille team was as follows: “Jardim – Celek, Fonte, Putman, Dagalo – Sanchez, Zika, Onana, Andre, Bamba – David.”
The defending champion Chelsea enters today’s match, looking to win a big result in order to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament, before facing the return in France.
The Blues battalion, led by German Thomas Tuchel, is playing Lille with high morale after winning the Club World Cup for the first time in the club’s history, after defeating the Brazilian Palmeiras team with two goals against a goal, in the match that extended to two additional halves, as well as regaining victories in The English Premier League defeated its host Crystal Palace, with a clean goal, in the match that brought them together last Saturday evening at Selhurst Park.
Tuchel seeks to preserve with Chelsea the Champions League title for the second season in a row, especially since facing Lille, who is ranked tenth in the French League, may be easy on paper for the Blues.
Chelsea is also armed with its fans wishing to celebrate the Club World Cup title with the players, as the Lille clash will be the first against Stamford Bridge, the Blues stronghold, after winning the World Championship.
Chelsea were crowned champions of the last edition of the tournament after beating Manchester City in the final with a free goal, and then completed their European magic by winning the European Super Cup at the expense of Villarreal, before recently winning the Club World Cup.
While Chelsea is third in the English Premier League table with 5 points, it is far from achieving the title, with Manchester City leading with 63 points, and the Egyptian star Mohamed Salah occupying second place with 57 points.
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