Chelsea players took advantage of two errors from Lille to win 2-0 on Tuesday night in the first leg of the knockout stages of the Champions League.
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Present for the second time in their history only at this stage of the competition, Lille are paying dearly for their apprenticeship. Against Chelsea on Tuesday, February 22, they conceded two goals “avoidable” according to their trainer Jocelyn Gourvennec. With technical waste, the Mastiffs did not manage to worry the defense of the Blues.
To face Chelsea, Jocelyn Gourvennec had chosen to strengthen his midfield, by aligning Xeka, Benjamin André and Amadou Onana. “It was important to have a slightly more advanced midfielder, an additional midfielder at the heart of the game. We contained them rather well, but it’s very strong up front”explained the northern coach.
Despite the contribution of Amadou Onana offensively, the Mastiffs have very little solicited Edouard Mendy, the goalkeeper of the Blues. Jonathan David, lonely at the peak, did not get many chances and regretted it at the microphone of Canal +: “We lacked a bit of quality in the last gesture, it cost us dearly […] They are well in place defensively, we should have played a little fairer to create better chances. »
And while they stumbled on an airtight defense, Lille were punished for their few errors. On a corner, Kai Havertz, free of any marking, opened the scoring. Then the Blues took advantage of a loss of ball in midfield to project against and score a second goal. “At this level, we cannot give easy balls […] We regret the mistakes, the balls lost in critical areas.reacted captain José Fonte at the microphone of Canal +.
Jonathan David spoke after the round of 16 first leg @championsleague against Chelsea (2-0) #UCL pic.twitter.com/SFlL8AIZi2
— LOSC (@losclive) February 22, 2022
“Two errors, two goals”added Jonathan David. “I find it severe given what we have produced”, added Jocelyn Gourvennec. In a very unfavorable tie for qualification, the Mastiffs will have to be sharper and above all fairer to at least destabilize the European champions in the return match.