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LIVE BLOG
FULL TIME: Chelsea win! And we’re into the Champions League Knockout Rounds!
90+5min: Good work from Kanté and Willian and Azpilicueta to hold the ball near the corner flag.
90+4min: CHO goes for goal from the top of the area. It’s not close.
90+1min: Kanté’s square ball for Mount is cut out and Lille can counter as they win the second ball from Rüdiger’s initial tackle. But Rémy’s shot from an angle is straight at Kepa and he holds on safely.
90min: Chelsea come again through Hudson-Odoi and Mount and the latter’s cross is blocked for a corner. Mount goes over to take it, inswinging from the left, headed clear just ahead of Zouma. Batshuayi can’t hold it up by the corner flag. 5 minutes added on.
89min: Batshuayi’s latest shot on the turn is just over the bar. Azpi this time with a good headed knockdown for the striker.
88min: Batshuayi’s found by Willian in the area this time, but his shot on the turn is blocked.
87min: Great combination from Willian, Kanté, and Azpi leads to a lovely square ball from the latter, but no one’s there at the top of the area to finish the chance.
85min: Batshuayi goes at it alone, ignoring Willian, and loses the ball, much to the displeasure of the locals.
84min: Strong work from Azpi and Willian win Chelsea a throw deep in Lille territory
82min: Hudson-Odoi tries to run the ball out of defense, but plays into trouble instead. Xeka’s shot is wide of the post, fortunately. Araújo has hurt himself in the process an is replaced by Renato Sanches. Meanwhile, Mount’s on for Kovačić to add some fresh legs in the middle.
78min: GOAL! Loïc Rémy. No clean sheet for Chelsea once again, as Bamba creates on the left, cutting back from the byline, finding the former Chelsea striker all alone at the penalty spot, from where he made no mistake. 2-1, Chelsea not making this comfortable.
76min: Rüdiger’s turn to show off his covering and tackling after Hudson-Odoi’s square pass to Azpi is cut out and Lille try to counter.
75min: Araújo goes for another run through the center, but he’s picked up by Zouma who eventually clears with a classic wrong-foot sliding tackle. At the other end, a Hudson-Odoi piledriver hits Gabriel in the head, and he stays down.
73min: Willian drives at the defense, but his shot from the top of the box is blocked. Kanté collects and plays square to Kovačić, who also tries his luck but the new goalkeeper shows a safe pair of hands to catch and hold on.
72min: Maignan thus off for Leo César. Meanwhile, it’s Batshuayi on for Abraham for Chelsea.
70min: Willian in the wars again as he’s bowled over from behind and stays down with a shake of his head. But it’s Lille’s goalkeeper who needs as sub, possibly because the end-of-first-half collision with Zouma has caught up to him.
67min: Zouma steps into midfield and initiates a run, but is bodychecked by Xeka, who gets a yellow for his troubles.
66min: Araújo goes for a jaunt right-to-left and forces a corner as Azpilicueta’s clearances is into Rüdiger’s body. Abraham heads clear on the corner and Chelsea try to counter through Willian, but he’s tracked down and tackled. Bamba on for Thiago Maia as Lille add more attacking impetus to their lineup in the meantime.
62min: Kanté plays in Pulisic, who plays a throughball to Abraham. But he’s looking over his right shoulder and not his left, so has to settle for a square ball back in, which is cleared ahead of Pulisic. And that’s the last action for him, as he’s replaced by Callum Hudson-Odoi.
60min: Lille win a corner against the run of play. Outswinger from the left is poor and Kovačić hacks clear at the corner of the six.
58min: Emerson’s latest corner is punched clear by the goalkeeper from inside the six. Another good delivery.
57min: Silky skills from Pulisic create from the left, but Lille clear just ahead of Abraham. Chelsea then try from the right, but Abraham’s layoff to Azpi only results in two blocked shots.
55min: Pulisic wins Chelsea’s latest corner, which is played short. Willian turns and squeezes between two impressively, but runs out of space.
54min: Good combination play from Kanté and Azpi up the right flank wins Chelsea a corner. Willian’s over to take it (not Emerson?), but it’s over the head of everybody and Lille can counter. Kanté’s there to put a stop to that.
52min: Chelsea continue to push for a third, which should kill off the game for good.
47min: Kovačić wins the ball from Rémy in midfield and drives forward, finding Pulisic, who’s pulled back blatantly 25 yards out. Willian and Emerson conference over the ball, but the angle favors the former. He goes for goal but the goalkeeper’s down to save behind the wall, somewhat awkwardly gathering it at the second attempt.
46min: Early foray forward on the left, but Pulisic and Willian and are denied by the goalkeeper and Emerson’s cross is poked clear. Chelsea win it back and push up the right, but Lille clear again.
HALF-TIME: No changes for either side and Abraham gets us back underway.
45+1min: HALF TIME. So far so good for Chelsea!
45min: Kanté drives up the right flank and wins another corner. Emerson takes this one short, then receives it back from Kanté before delivering another excellent ball from the changed angle. The goalkeeper is brave to punch clear ahead of Zouma, and they both stay down hurt after the big collision and fall. They’re up but Maignan’s favoring his right leg. Zouma gets a yellow for some mysterious reason afterwards.
44min: Another great delivery from Emerson sees the goalkeeper scrambling to punch clear just ahead of the arriving Abraham.
43min: Willian gets a forearm into the head/neck near the corner flag and stays down for a bit. Seemed accidental, but the free kick is awarded. Eemrson swings that in again, but this Azpilicueta’s touch is blocked for a corner.
41min: Xeka wins the ball for Lille, but Araújo settles for a 35-yard effort in its wake. Well wide.
40min: Great cover from Jorginho for Emerson, who got stuck upfield after a midfield turnover from a loose Willian layoff. Meanwhile, Celik’s into the book for trodding on Kovačić’s foot.
37min: Lille threaten for the first time, but Araújo’s powerful drive is over the bar. Rémy stays down afterwards, having been (cleanly) wiped out by a combination of Kanté and Rüdiger.
36min: Willian dribbles in from the right, finding Pulisic, but he’s crowded out.
35min: GOAL!!!! AZPI!!!!!!! Emerson(!) on corner duty from this side, and he swings it and straight onto the head of Azpilicueta, who makes no mistake! Good movement by Rüdiger to clear the space. 2-0, CHELSEA!!
34min: Willian plays short to Kovačić, who eventually crosses in towards the far post, where it’s cleared for another corner.
33min: Pulisic weaves past four after receiving from Emerson, getting to the byline and cutting back. The ball’s cleared just ahead of Abraham for a corner.
31min: Abraham and Pulisic play a two-man game at the top of the box, but the latter is crowded out by three defenders. He goes to ground but no call’s coming.
30min: Chelsea move the left-to-right, then right-to-left, with Pulisic playing wide to Emerson. He cuts inside and takes aim with his right foot. But it’s straight into the belly of the goalkeeper.
29min: Emerson’s called for a foul on Araújo, as Chelsea have dropped the initial tempo and Lille come into the game.
26min: Valencia lead at Ajax, which is not a good result for Chelsea, should we not win.
25min: Kanté bounds forward and finds Willian wide right. He whips in a good-looking cross, but no one’s there at the far post to finish it off.
23min: Emerson twists his left ankle as he tries to shield and turn with the ball. That looks painful, but he’s going to try to run it off.
22min: Chelsea continue to dominate possession. Willian cuts in from the right and goes for a left-footed effort, which is blocked. Azpi’s follow-up cross is cleared ahead of Pulisic.
19min: GOALLLLLL!!! ABRAHAM!!! Chelsea come through the center with Pulisic, who plays wide to Willian in the channel. He goes past one and cuts back from the byline, and Abraham’s there to tuck it home. Easy as you like. 1-0, CHELSEA!
15min: Chance for Emerson after Abraham whiffs on an Azpi cross. The shot is low but straight at the goalkeeper, who blocks and smothers it.
13min: Abraham almost nicks the ball from the center backs in a moment of indecision, but the touch is just a bit long and the goalkeeper collects.
12min: Good high press from Jorginho and Emerson almost creates a good chance, but the ball rolls out of Emerson’s reach for a goal kick.
10min: Abraham takes down the long ball from Zouma, knocking it back to Pulisic. He slips past a couple then takes a left-footed shot that goes just wide of the far post.
9min: Willian gets trod on, no call. That’s a painful one, but should be able to run it off.
8min: Lille look to counter quickly but Rüdiger’s back to cover. He catches Araújo with a flailing arm in the process, and he stays down for a second before carrying on. The rain’s coming down in absolute sheets in the meantime.
7min: Chelsea prod right, then left, and win a corner through Kanté. Willian swings it in, but Rémy clears at the near post for another corner. Willian takes this one, too, and this time the goalkeeper claims.
4min: Decent start from Chelsea as Rüdiger looks long for Abraham, but it’s just out of his reach and the goalkeeper collects.
KICK-OFF: The rain teems down as the anthem plays and the match gets underway
It’s another (hopefully) glorious European night at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea need a win, or a draw and an Ajax win over Valencia, to advance to the Champions League knockout rounds. Otherwise, it’s Europa League again for the rest of the season.
Accordingly, Chelsea go with the 4-3-3. Meanwhile, Lille look to have rotated and rested some of their biggest players with nothing on the line for them. For example, former Chelsea man Loïc Rémy gets the start while the dangerous Victor Osimhen’s on the bench, alongside Jonathan Ikoné and Jonathan Bamba.
Here we go!
Chelsea starting lineup (4-3-3):
Arrizabalaga | Emerson, Rüdiger, Zouma, Azpilicueta (c) | Kovačić, Jorginho, Kanté | Pulisic, Abraham, Willian
Substitutes from: Caballero, Christensen, James, Barkley, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi
Lille starting lineup (4-5-1)
Maignan (c) | Pied, Gabriel, Tiago Djaló, Zeki Çelik | Araújo, Maia, Soumaré, Xeka, Yusuf Yazici | Rémy
Substitutes from: Leo César, Fonte, Osimhen, Ikoné, Bamba, Renato Sanches, Bradarić
Date / Time: Tuesday, December 10, 2019, 20.00 GMT; 3pm EST; 1:30am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos
On TV: BT Sport 2 (UK); none (USA), Sony TEN 1 (India); Canal+ Sport 3, SuperSport 5 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: BT Sport Live (UK); B/R Live (FOR FREE), TUDNxtra (USA); Sony LIV (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Another special Champions League night at Stamford Bridge for @ChelseaFCinUSA?
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 10, 2019
Watch it FREE on @brlive (US only ) pic.twitter.com/ekS6ctakQu
Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!