Chelsea news: Thomas Tuchel reveals half-time team talk against Burnley

Chelsea registered an impressive 4-0 victory against Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday. It was an important result for the Blues to maintain their top three status in the league. With Manchester City and Liverpool fighting it hard for the top spot, the remaining two positions in the top four places are up for grabs. A host of teams are locked up in the battle for the fourth spot, hence it is important for Chelsea to hold on to the third spot. They managed to do it with an impressive second half showing at Turf Moor that saw them score four goals without reply on Saturday. Goals from Reece James, Christian Pulisic and a Kai Havertz double helped the Blues secure all three points. 

It was not all easy going as the scoreline would suggest. Chelsea had 10 shots on target in the second period compared to just one before the break. The Blues manager Thomas Tuchel revealed what was said in the away dressing room which helped the team step it up after the break. “It was very calm,” he said during his post-match press conference at Turf Moor. “We just reminded everybody what we wanted to do, where the spaces were and where we want to find the acceleration. Where we needed to step up was clearly up front. We needed to ask more questions and make life more difficult for the back four.

READ MORE – Havertz nets double as the Blues win 4-0

We kept on believing: Thomas Tuchel

He added: “The goal opened the game for us and gave us a lot of belief and confidence. Our attacks were then more fluid and we were absolutely more decisive. On the one hand, it was difficult because the pitch was so dry. We had a lot of ball possession but it was difficult to accelerate the game. The ball was somehow always stuck between our legs and once you pass it, it’s already one second too late and the spaces are already closed.

“We had a bit of a switch in tactics to give Kante more space and to have two strikers on the pitch. The team did very well, we kept on believing and had a fantastic second half and a brilliant result.”

Reece James was at the heart of many good things Chelsea did on Saturday. He provided with a goal and assist. After the match, Tuchel explained how happy he is to have the defender back from injury. “We missed him for such a long time that you get used to it. It was nine weeks and in this time we had something like 25 matches so we were constantly trying to find solutions and we did it as a team,” he added.

“We managed to win games and even titles in this period but once he’s back and plays three times, today the first time from the beginning you see what you missed. It’s such huge quality and very impressive how decisive he is in training and now even in the games. These positions are very important when you play with this structure and it’s the same on the left side so it puts things into perspective when you see what we missed and I’m very happy that he came back like this.”