Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel provides update on injured trio

Thomas Tuchel once again had to see his Chelsea side go all the way in a Carabao Cup tie before securing the victory in a penalty shootout. This time it was against Southampton. Last time, the Blues had to survive the cup round against Aston Villa in a similar manner. Nonetheless, Tuchel was satisfied with the performance and the outcome, although the manager informed that three of his players succumbed to injuries ahead of the match. The match on Tuesday night finished 1-1 in regulation time and saw a subsequent penalty shoot-out success over Southampton that mirrored the Aston Villa third round tie in this competition. 

As a result of the unexpected injury situation, Tuchel admitted that he had to field something of a makeshift XI on Tuesday night. Despite the last minute changes, he was heartened by the way his players dealt with the situation in the face of a resilient Premier League opposition. “We were expecting it to be difficult,” Tuchel was quoted as saying by the club’s website. “We had some last-minute changes. Three potential starters got injured in training yesterday. It was not planned like this, so we had not so many options from the bench to not overuse players.

“We knew it was the first time we played together in this selection and we knew it would be tough against a team that put so much pressure on you. That’s the way it was. It was a nice match of football from both teams, a really tough match, and in the end we are happy to win the penalty shoot-out. When you play Southampton you know what you get, intensity, high pressing, a team full of courage and speed. It’s their identity. You have to accept things get tough, and the challenges are constantly there. That’s why I am happy with the performance and the result.”

Tuchel provides injury update

Tuchel went on to inform that the trio he was not able to call upon at the late notice were Cesar Azpilicueta, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Andreas Christensen. “We hope Azpi is back for the weekend. He had a shoulder injury yesterday in training when he fell on it. It’s very painful but he’s Azpi and he’s a tough guy. Ruben felt after training some pain in his hip joint. Hopefully we can handle it for Saturday. Andreas needed to recover from tooth surgery and he should be back in training on Thursday if there are no complications,” he added.

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa was impressive again. He made another stop in the shootout – his eighth in a Chelsea shirt – to help the Blues prevail on penalties for the third time this season. “He produces. He is full of confidence. He has this experience now with us, and he has done it again and again,” he added.

“Just because you win a penalty shoot-out, does not mean you will do it again. Full credit to him. It’s a special thing in football and we were again concentrated and calm. Kepa was a big part of that.”

Asked how important the Carabao Cup was to him in the ranking of trophies Chelsea could win this season, Tuchel replied, “Every competition is important.”

“We don’t want to judge them. When we prepare for matches and wear the shirt, we play all in. That’s what this club and the players are all about. The players who got a chance used it.”