Chelsea advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory (4-1 on aggregate) over Lille, thanks to goals from Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta
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The European champions put aside their off-field issues once more and delivered a strong effort to defeat the Ligue 1 team.
Chelsea fell down in the first half when Burak Yilmaz scored from the penalty spot after Jorginho was penalised for handball, but Pulisic equalised in first-half extra time.
With fewer than 20 minutes remaining, Azpilicueta put the game out of reach by converting a cross from replacement Mason Mount with his knee.
Chelsea have showed no symptoms of being distracted by the club’s sale, with this being their fifth consecutive victory since Roman Abramovich revealed his intention to sell the club.
Lille had a strong start, but Chelsea weathered the storm, despite the fact that centre-back Andreas Christensen had to be withdrawn with what appeared to be a hamstring injury and was replaced by Trevoh Chalobah.
During a dull first quarter, the hosts capitalised on their opportunity to re-enter the game. After a VAR check ordered referee Davide Massa to watch the incident on the pitchside monitor, Jorginho was penalised for handball. Yilmaz side-footed the penalty shot into the top-right corner to cut the aggregate deficit to one goal.
