With more injuries and positive Covid tests in his squad, Tuchel had to make six changes to his team from the side which drew with Liverpool at the weekend.
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Chelsea registered an impressive 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge. Thomas Tuchel was understandably happy with the team’s performance on Wednesday night. What was impressive was the fact that Chelsea played really well against an opponent in such good form. With more injuries and positive Covid tests in his squad, Tuchel had to make six changes to his team from the side which drew with Liverpool at the weekend. In just five minutes, the Blues took the lead through Kai Havertz before Japhet Tanganga and Ben Davies combined in unbelievable circumstances to divert a free-kick into their own net.
“I liked the game a lot,” he said, as quoted by their club’s website. “This is far from normal, how we performed today against a Tottenham who at the moment are so strong, so compact and so full of confidence. We had two late last minute bits of bad news with Thiago and N’Golo, who were both supposed to start. So we decided yesterday to maybe switch to a back four and the guys were very open, very committed, very focused, to play like how we played. So it’s good and it’s not fair to demand performances more or less out of nothing, like from Saul, Hakim and Malang. All three were outstanding today and that makes us very happy because it was a very deserved win in a big match against a very strong opponent.”
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He added: “We could have created a bigger cushion, it was possible, we created a lot. We were very strong because it is so hard to create against Tottenham, which we saw over the last games. Especially in the second half we created a lot, and a lot of big chances to have the third or fourth goal. So now as everybody knows this is not decided and we have to arrive in full focus and top shape again because we need another 90 minutes of top quality football if we want to go through to Wembley.”
Another major talking point from the match was Romelu Lukaku’s return to the team. Tuchel was happy with the Belgian striker’s display. “I’m happy with his performance, I liked how he played. He was strong, he was involved and showed huge commitment in our defensive work, which was important. He was always dangerous, always used his body and was always involved in dangerous situations,” he explained.
“I expected it honestly because Romelu and handle pressure and can handle adversity. He seemed to be relaxed after the decision was made and we finished our talks and he knew what was going on, I felt him relaxed enough to have a performance like this.”
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