Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic found the net with a goal apiece in either half as Thomas Tuchel’s reigning kings of the continent resumed the defence of our crown with a polished performance. We will now take a two-goal lead to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy for the second leg in three weeks’ time.

Tilted to the right

With Hakim Ziyech so effective in recent outings on the right flank, it was no surprise to see the Blues focus much of our attacking endeavours down that side of the pitch against the reigning French champions.

Over half the forward forays initiated by the hosts came down the right, with Kai Havertz and N’Golo Kante also tilted to that wing, and Cesar Azpilicueta the more advanced of our two wing-backs.

Some of our most notable early opportunities, prior to Havertz’s headed opener, came through this route. The German spurned a great chance inside five minutes as he fired a cross from the captain over on the half-volley before forcing Lille goalkeeper Leo Jardim to expertly tip his next attempt around the post.

Those were two of our nine shots in total throughout the 90 minutes, compared to 15 overall for the visitors, although the quality of those chances were starkly different. All Chelsea shots came from inside the 18-yard box, while 60 per cent of Lille’s efforts came from outside the box and none from six yards or closer.

Top of the stats

N’Golo Kante was named as UEFA’s Player of the Match following another all-action display in central midfield.

The Frenchman and Mateo Kovacic were Tuchel’s preferred partnership in the engine room, though the Croatian’s withdrawal with injury early in the second half left much of the remaining heavy lifting to Kante.

Our number seven rarely shirks a tough shift though and he was eye-catching again at the Bridge, winning more tackles (four) and playing more key passes (two) than any other Chelsea player.

Meanwhile, only the three centre-backs completed more than his 48 passes, only Christian Pulisic and Marcos Alonso made more successful dribbles, and his 91 per cent pass completion was also one of the highest on the pitch.

One of those customary lung-busting runs led to our second goal of the night as he picked up the ball midway in our half and charged forward to the edge of the Lille box before teeing up Pulisic to finish smartly. Whether containing, controlling or creating, this was another vintage Kante display against his compatriots on the big European stage.

Fortress Stamford Bridge

This latest Chelsea home victory extended our winning run in the Champions League to five consecutive games at the Bridge, all without conceding a goal, which is a first for an English club in the competition.

Just like our triumphant campaign last term, defensive solidity is providing the bedrock for our assault on continental glory. Tuchel’s Chelsea have conceded just two goals in eight Champions League knockout ties, while our 14 clean sheets since the start of last season is more than any other side.

Much of that was aided by another flawless rearguard display from Thiago Silva, who won possession more times in the game (12) than he has ever done before in a Champions League match, on what was his 94th appearance in the competition. One first-half tackling sequence in particular brought such pleasure for the Brazilian that he roared at the home supporters in delight.

Behind him, Edouard Mendy has also now kept 14 clean sheets in 18 starts in the competition (78 per cent), the highest clean sheet ratio of any goalkeeper with more than five starts in the competition’s history.