Chelsea beats Lille to reach CL quarters

Lille, France, March 17 (BUS): Much remains uncertain about the future of Chelsea, but at the moment, the champions have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

American international Christian Pulisic converted one of Chelsea’s rare chances, and Cesar Azpilicueta added another goal on Wednesday to help the Premier League side advance with a 2-1 win over Lille, 4-1 on aggregate, the Associated Press reported.

Chelsea, whose future was left in doubt after Britain and the European Union froze the assets of owner Roman Abramovich, did not achieve much but faced the French champions.

Pulisic canceled a penalty kick from Burak Yilmaz at the end of the first half and Azpilicueta scored the winning goal in the 71st minute.

“They gave us a lot of problems in the first half,” Pulisic said. “It was a really important goal right before the first half, and from there I think it gave us some confidence.”

Chelsea won the second leg 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last month.

In search of an early goal, Lille started the match with intense pressure in the Chelsea half.

The hosts won doubles in midfield and their dominance was embodied with the first chance to score after seven minutes when Burak Yilmaz fired from 20 metres.

With a comfortable lead from the first leg, Chelsea took no risks and were content to wait patiently for the match to start with a smooth pass. The guests gradually developed in the match and Mateo Kovacic caused real problems for Lille’s defense with his powerful passes and quick dribbles.

There was a change of dynamics shortly after the half-hour mark when Andreas Christensen had to leave the field injured. He was replaced by Trevoh Chalobah, who was immediately broken by Jonathan David on the side of the area and received a free kick.

Lille’s opener came from a subsequent move as Jorginho blocked the ball with his arm in the area, causing Lille’s players to scream for a penalty that was awarded after a VAR check.

Yilmaz hit the ball and hit it in the top corner bypassing Chelsea goalkeeper Edward Mendy in the 38th minute.

Lil could not hold onto the front for long. The hosts were penalized after Jorginho Pulisic hit the penalty area with a perfectly weighted pass that the American striker netted at the far post from a narrow angle.

After the break, Lille once again threatened with a brilliant header from Yilmaz that sailed just inches away. Portuguese midfielder Zika came close in the 64th minute with a strong header from a cross pass from Yilmaz that hit the post.

Lille’s hopes were dashed for good when Azpilicueta beat goalkeeper Leo Jardim at the end of a fine possession period. The former Marseille player was left unmarked, tied with a cross from a mountain and sent the ball into the net with his right knee.

Timothy Weah came off the bench for the night in the 58th minute, making it the first time two Americans had played against each other in a Champions League knockout match.