Thomas Tuchel's side took control of the tie thanks to
Havertz's first-half header and Christian Pulisic's clinical finish after the
break at Stamford Bridge.
The holders will expect to complete their progress to the
quarterfinals when they travel to France for the second leg on 16 March.
But Chelsea's sixth successive win in all competitions was
more a referendum on their Lukaku conundrum than an indication of their chances
of retaining the trophy.
Lukaku has scored just 10 goals since a club record
£97-million move from Inter Milan last year that was expected to launch a
period of sustained dominance for Chelsea.
He touched the ball only seven times in Saturday's 1-0 win
at Crystal Palace, the lowest total by a Premier League player since 2003-04.
Despite being infuriated in December by Lukaku's public
questioning of the way he was being used, Tuchel had appeared to back him on
Monday, insisting his problems were no laughing matter.
But, tellingly, Chelsea were more potent in Lukaku's absence
and it remains to be seen if Tuchel will trust his beleaguered star in the
League Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday.
At least Tuchel knows Chelsea have the ammunition to damage
opponents while their supposed leading man labours.
"For Kai, I'm very pleased. He's been very strong for
several weeks now. He really stepped up. The work rate is immense. The areas of
the pitch he covers for us is very good. He is never shy of defending,"
Tuchel said.
"Romelu struggled in the last game to deliver. Not only
mentally tired, but physically, which I can understand. It was the moment to
take a step back.
"Today we went with other players. For Sunday we have
four days to recover and decide who plays."
Chelsea's Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi
paraded the Club World Cup around the pitch just before kick-off.
However, that victory in Abu Dhabi will be only a footnote in
the story of Chelsea's season if they don't mount a strong finish to an
inconsistent campaign.
This was a step in the right direction and Havertz didn't
take long to get involved.
FORCEFUL HAVERTZ
Cesar Azpilicueta's low cross was begging to be finished
off, but the German forward poked his effort over the bar from six yards.
If that was a concern for Tuchel, he would have been
relieved that Havertz looked more threatening as he cut inside for a fierce
strike which Leo Jardim pushed away at full stretch.
From the resulting corner, Havertz gave Chelsea an
eighth-minute lead.
Taking advantage of Lille's woeful marking, Havertz met
Hakim Ziyech's corner with a downward header that bounced in for his seventh
goal this season.
Havertz, more forceful and energetic than Lukaku on current
form, needed just 15 minutes to record more touches than the Belgian managed in
the entire Palace game.
After an initial bout of stage-fright, the French champions
probed intelligently for openings, with Benjamin Andre's long-range drive held
by Edouard Mendy.
Tuchel's agitated body language betrayed his frustration at
Chelsea's failure to build on their lead in the first half.
However, he got his message across and there was more
urgency about Chelsea after the interval.
Marcos Alonso's goalbound drive was diverted to safety by
Zeki Celik before Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic were forced off.
Chelsea weren't hindered by the injuries and doubled their
lead with a sweeping counter-attack in the 63rd minute.
Thiago Silva started the incisive raid with a superb pass to
N'Golo Kante, who advanced at speed towards the Lille area before slipping a
pass to Pulisic.
Taking two touches, Pulisic steadied himself and clipped a
composed finish past Jardim from 10 yards.
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