Chelsea forward Kai Havertz on playing as a lone striker following Lille victory
Chelsea attacker Kai Havertz has given his insight on being utilised as a lone striker by Thomas Tuchel in the victory over Lille yesterday. His team won the match 2-0 on the night as they gained control over their Champions League future in the round of 16 tie.
Havertz scored the opener for the Blues around the eight-minute mark putting his side into the driving seat early in the knockout fixture. The Chelsea attacker was lively even before the first goal as he constantly threatened the visitors through his dangerous off the ball movements. Moreover, his work rate throughout the game also made life difficult for the Lille defenders.
Speaking in the post-match interview to BT Sport 2 (h/t Football.London), Havertz has conveyed that he feels great after playing as a striker. The 22-year-old added that he is comfortable playing in any position in the attack while backing Tuchel’s decision to play him through the centre.
“Yeah, I mean it’s good for me. I think we have a lot of good strikers so it’s always good to maybe have a change to not make it easy for the opponent. I think it worked today, it worked good but I enjoy every position forward.”
Havertz or Lukaku on Sunday?
Havertz’s words could have sent a message to the Chelsea boss while simultaneously being a warning to Romelu Lukaku. The 48-year-old coach could have a tough decision to make regarding the centre-forward role on Sunday. With the Belgian currently struggling to recapture his form from Inter Milan, the manager could opt to start the former Bayer Leverkusen ace once again for the Carabao Cup final.
Then again, Lukaku could return to contention due to the injury concerns regarding Hakim Ziyech. It is still uncertain whether the latter could make it into the matchday squad to face Liverpool in the cup final. Even if that is the case, the German boss must still decide the position where the Belgian striker will play if he makes it into the starting lineup.
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Who knows, maybe Lukaku could play from the right-hand side as he has done in the past with the Belgium national team. That could help Tuchel play Havertz in the centre as he did against the French club yesterday. Whatever the case it may be, the German ace’s display against Lille could force the club’s record signing to play at his best moving forward. Only time will tell whether that is the case or not in the future.