Chelsea rolls into Champions League last-16
All four English clubs advance • Ancelotti sacked despite Napoli’s progress • Teen Fati makes history for Barca
LONDON (Reuters) – Chelsea survived a nerve-jangling finale to secure a 2-1 win over Lille late Tuesday night, eventually holding on to clinch a place in the Champions League knockout stage thanks to first-half goals from Tammy Abraham and captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
Chelsea, which needed a victory to make sure of qualification, had gone five Champions League games at Stamford Bridge without a victory, its longest such run at home in the competition.
The Blues dominated almost the entire game yet Lille, which was already condemned to the bottom spot of Group H and fielded an under-strength side, scored in the 78th minute and came close to a late equalizer that would have eliminated Chelsea.
Victory left Chelsea second in the group on 11 points behind Valencia, which won 1-0 at Ajax Amsterdam, consigning the Dutch champions to third place and elimination. Lille ended with just one point.
“It did get twitchy,” said Chelsea coach Frank Lampard. “We need to take our chances better. At 2-0, I thought it was not quite done and when Lille scored it made it a more nervy finish to the game than it needed to be.”
After dominating the opening proceedings in a downpour and swirling wind, Chelsea went ahead in the 19th minute when US striker Christian Pulisic darted forward to feed Willian and the Brazilian’s cut-back cross was turned in by Abraham.
The Londoners doubled their lead in the 35th minute when Azpilicueta shook off his marker to score with a close-range header from a corner by Emerson.
But what had looked like being a comfortable night for the Blues proved anything but once former Chelsea striker Loic
Remy pulled a goal back for Lille with his shot going in off the underside of the bar.
Remy then wasted a chance to equalize when he shot straight at Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in injury time.
Lille coach Christophe Galtier said his team had struggled in the opening 30 minutes to cope with Chelsea and the heavy rain and wind that swept around Stamford Bridge.
“Chelsea seemed to play a bit less in the second half. We got more of the ball and we deserved to get our goal,” he said. “It made the match more interesting than what went before it. We could have scored a second goal.”
The result meant all four English teams in this season’s Champions League – Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as Chelsea – have reached the last-16 of the competition.
There was further good news for Chelsea as it welcomed back central defender Antonio Rudiger, who had previously played only 45 minutes this season due to injuries.
In other action, Liverpool moved into the last-16 with a 2-0 victory over Salzburg as a potentially tricky encounter turned into a second-half cruise with quick-fire goals from Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah.
Jurgen Klopp’s side needed a point in Austria to be sure of qualification and after missing several good chances in the first half, the Reds ended up with a comfortable win which should have been by a more convincing margin.
Two goals inside two second-half minutes from Keita and Salah, with the Egyptian finding the net with an exquisite finish from a tight angle, helped Liverpool finish top of Group E with 13 points.
That was one point ahead of Napoli, which beat Genk 4-0, while Salzburg, which finished third with seven points, will continue in the Europa League.
“It was a tough game but we were there – that’s what I love from my team. Salzburg did so many smart things, but we had the big chances. It was a very intense game. In the second half they obviously couldn’t cope with that intensity,” said Klopp.
Meanwhile, Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti was sacked shortly after watching his side end a nine-match winless run over all competitions to reach the last-16.
His side, inspired by a first-half hat-trick from Arkadiusz Milik, outclassed Genk, but the 60-year-old was shown the door just three hours after the final whistle, with Italian media naming Gennaro Gattuso as favorite to replace him.
Both Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport had reported before the game that Ancelotti was set to be fired whatever the result.
Ancelotti claimed after the game that he was still hopeful of keeping his job and that he was due to meet club owner and president Aurelio De Laurentiis on Wednesday.
“I hope to stay but that is a decision the president will make. This team has quality which they have shown in the Champions League but not in the league.
“They haven’t said anything to me, I was just preparing the match. Will I resign? I’ve never done that in my life.”
But just before midnight, Napoli issued a statement confirming the dismissal of the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayer Munich coach.
Also, Inter Milan crashed out of the competition after 17-year-old Ansu Fati became the youngest scorer in the competition’s history by firing in a late winner to seal Barcelona’s 2-1 victory at San Siro.
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde rested Lionel Messi and several other key players for the trip to Milan, having already secured top spot in Group F, but Carles Perez put the Spaniards in front on his Champions League debut after just 23 minutes before Romelu Lukaku leveled.
Inter striker Lautaro Martinez had the ball in the net twice after the break, only for both goals to be disallowed for offside, before Fati smashed in a sublime finish inside the final five minutes.