Chelsea 2-1 Lille player ratings: Pulisic goal sends the Blues through

Kai Havertz (Right forward): 6/10

Havertz, like Pulisic, was marked out of the game for large parts. He did win a few fouls to relieve Chelsea of pressure. The German won five of his 10 attempted ground duels, as well. He was often isolated up front, forcing him to drop really deep to get on the ball sometimes. Things improved slightly when Mount came onto the pitch and it was a “front three” again. However, Havertz never quite found his way into the game. He probably should have come off long before he eventually did.

Chelsea’s win was ultimately more important than any one person’s performance though. Havertz played much better in the first leg, but the conditions and factors surrounding the two games were vastly different.

Christian Pulisic (Left forward): 7/10

Christian Pulisic was quiet for large parts of the game. He was the definition of clinical, though, because the one notable thing he did in the game was score a beautifully taken goal when presented with the chance. The midfielders did not do enough to involve the forwards in play. However, Lille’s pressing was very good and part of the reason the midfielders could not involve them more was because they were marked out of the game. It was fairly easy to mark them out of the game as Chelsea played with only two forwards.

Pulisic played a very important role in this match, as despite him not being too involved, he was still able to get an important goal before halftime to put the minds of his teammates at ease. Pulisic’s ball retention could have been better, especially as the Blues depended on him to be an out-ball. He tried a lot of tricks that didn’t come off. The American will need to increase his efficiency as there is such a thing as over-dribbling. The best way to take advantage of an overload on one flank is to get the ball to the wide man as quickly as possible. Pulisic won a few fouls that looked like he ‘d have been better off just passing the ball.