London, UK - After lifting the Club World Cup for the first time in its history 10 days ago, Chelsea turned to defending its European crown with a straight-forward 2-0 win over Lille in the Champions League last 16.

Right from the kick-off, the result hardly ever seemed in any real doubt, as Kai Havertz showed exactly what Chelsea have been missing when the out-of-favor Romelu Lukaku leads the line.

Just eight minutes in, the German forward made it third time lucky with a goal that really should have sealed a lightning hat-trick.

He first missed an open goal after great work between Hakim Ziyech and Cesar Azpilicueta on the right. Havertz then had another try almost immediately, this time seeing his strong shot from inside the box well saved by the Lille goalkeeper.

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But there was no denying him in that frantic opening period – or so the French champions decided, since they didn't even bother to mark the 22-year-old at a corner kick. All by his lonesome, Havertz had the luxury of making an unopposed run and heading the ball powerfully down into the Stamford Bridge pitch, which gave Léo Jardim no chance of saving.

Strangely enough, though, that only seemed to wake up Lille, who then proceeded to slowly but surely make its way into the game. At the center of everything – literally and figuratively – was Renato Sanches, the Portuguese midfielder who's found a new lease on life in Ligue 1. Always a classy operator, he imposed himself on the flow of play and his teammates joined in.

By halftime, Lille may not have put the Chelsea goal in any kind of serious danger, but that's only because their increasingly frequent shots weren't landing on target.

But that state of affairs didn't survive the break. The Blues found their speed of passing again in the second half, while Lille's pressing intensity noticeably dropped off. Havertz was harassing the visitors' defense again, joined by the previously quiet Christian Pulisic. It was the USMNT star who finished off a perfect counterattack started by N'Golo Kante and that, you felt, was that.

All throughout a comfortable win, Thiago Silva, Chelsea's defensive aristocrat, strode around with the kind of confidence that almost two decades of soccer at the top level will give you – all while maintaining the agility of someone half his venerable age of 37.

There's no looking past Kai Havertz in this game and a big part of that is down to "the narrative": that big, looming Lukaku dilemma that Chelsea has foisted on itself.

After the Belgian striker's latest low at the weekend against Crystal Palace – when he set a record for fewest touches in a full game – it's no wonder everyone was counting along with Havertz's every flick, trick, and layoff. Suffice to say quantity and quality weren't an issue for him.

Still, six goals at this stage in the season doesn't exactly scream scoring machine, but he has a knack of getting big goals, in cup finals and big competitions. It's also true that Havertz has had his own slumps, but when he's up for it, the entire mechanism that head coach Thomas Tuchel is trying to assemble just clicks into gear.

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For that reason alone, if not his scoring contribution, Havertz will probably continue to be first pick in that center forward position.

Back in December, the draw for the Champions League last 16 had to be redone after some bureaucratic ineptitude. Chelsea and Lille were the only teams to keep their original tie and right now, the London side will definitely be happy about that.

This is by no means over. Stamford Bridge heard from Lille's traveling fans all night and close to 50,000 of them packed into Stade Pierre Mauroy on March 16 will produce one hell of an atmosphere. A 2-0 score is far from impossible to turn around, so Chelsea will need to be at its best in more trying circumstances than they faced at home.

All the while, the Lukaku question will rumble on in the background, so watch out for Tuchel's lineups until then.