Galtier feels Chelsea draw was attainable

Cape Town - Lille manager Christophe Galtier found it hard to hide his disappointment after a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday.

The French outfit went into the game with nothing but pride to play for and, in the lead-up to the clash, Galtier demanded that his players put in a performance at Stamford Bridge.

They can leave with their heads held high following a brave performance, but also a little disappointed that they did not snatch a draw at the death.

Goals from Tammy Abraham and Cesar Azpilicueta put the Blues in control at half-time, but they failed to kill off the Group H tie.

When former player Loic Remy lashed home with 12 minutes left, it set up a nervy finale, especially with Valencia winning at Ajax. Another Lille goal would have seen Chelsea drop from second to third, but they held on and reached the round of 16.

Galtier watched his side threaten to spoil the party in west London, and believes they were unlucky not to do so.

"Chelsea were playing to go through and they are used to playing such big games," he said. "The first 25 minutes, the weather made it complicated and Chelsea were pressing a lot, but our players hung on and in the last 20 minutes Chelsea diminished the intensity and we had the opportunity to create some chances and get a goal back.

"This enabled us to have a more interesting end to the game and we also had the opportunity to score a second towards the end. Could we have got more out of this game? I think we probably could have, given our efforts."

Lille now return to Ligue 1 action this weekend as they face Montpellier when they will be looking to consolidate third place in the table.

- TeamTalk Media