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LONDON – Thomas Tuchel last week described a team that Frank Lampard often regretted as being too big and “the perfect size”, and here Chelsea showed why his opinion carries more weight. The Blues are in their first Champions League quarter-final since 2014 with a 2-0 (3-0 aggregate) victory over Atlético de Madrid on Wednesday, the product of a second leg that tied the first by combine expert man management with tactical intelligence. .
Tuchel will eventually be judged for the silverware he delivers at Stamford Bridge, so it is too early to declare his appointment an outright success, but dispatching a European heavyweight with such conviction so early in his reign is arguably more than they could have waited. It is true that there is a debate about the strength of La Liga these days, but Atlético de Madrid is the best team in Spain today, led by a coach in Diego Simeone who is an expert in shaping a team greater than the sum of its parts. . But he was outclassed in both stages, with Tuchel reaping the buyout rewards he has seemingly spawned from the entire first team group.
Olivier Giroud was used in the opening game to try to disrupt Atlético’s notoriously stiff defense, scoring a brilliant away goal that forced Atlético to take a more offensive approach here to try and salvage the tie. Consequently, Tuchel opted to start Timo Werner down the middle with Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech in close support, aiming to exploit Atlético at halftime in anticipation of this change in style. The plan worked perfectly.
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Werner’s tribulations in front of goal are well documented, but his request under Tuchel cannot be questioned. He has responded to Tuchel’s regular public defenses of his scoring record, two in his last 27 games now, showing great diligence in pushing relentlessly from the front, chasing to deflect Kieran Trippier’s center in the 34th minute and win. possession for the opening goal.
N’Golo Kante headed the looped ball to Kai Havertz, who released Werner, now running the other way. He calculated his cross superbly as Ziyech scored his first goal in 19 games, passing under Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
It felt significant that this was the first time that Havertz, Werner and Ziyech started a game with Tuchel. The situation in the tie may have dictated their selections to some extent, but Giroud, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi were available and will give Tuchel considerable credit with the Chelsea hierarchy in finding a home for the three attacking signings of the club. from last summer’s £ 220 million spending spree.
Mason Mount and Jorginho were suspended, but Kante showed why he deserves to be in any starting lineup with a quietly devastating display, tirelessly chasing to turn the midfield battle in favor of the locals.
Thomas Tuchel has Chelsea totally bought into his ways, and his unbeaten streak under his leadership has reached 13 games. BEN STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images
At the rear, Andreas Christensen did not recover in time from the illness, but Kurt Zouma intervened with a display of command alongside Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta. It’s a testament to the defensive stamina Tuchel has introduced – another notable contrast to Lampard’s regime – that his solidity seems to endure regardless of staff – scoring a staggering 11 clean sheet of his 13 unbeaten games in charge.
The feeling that Tuchel had expertly led his squad had the perfect coda. The Blues head coach has regularly cited the impact Pulisic can have off the bench and in injury time, and the United States international raced forward at halftime before executing a perfectly timed pass to substitute teammate Emerson Palmieri. , who scored only his second goal for the match. club and the first since September 2018.
Mount, Thiago Silva and Jorginho did their best to replicate the reaction of the absent fans by celebrating in the stands with a three-way hug, further exemplifying the unity Tuchel has engendered.
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“The amount of effort, intensity and teamwork on both legs was absolutely unbelievable, outstanding,” Tuchel said after the game. “We’ve missed four or five key players today and everyone else stepped forward with great support from the bench, great support from the stands, the guys that were injured. This is how I feel. The guys are. Totally reliable The effort and intensity are Unbelievable It’s hard, hard teamwork.
“From the first moment I felt part of a family and a well structured club.”
Chelsea had luck on their side, it must be said. Azpilicueta appeared to tug on Yannick Carrasco’s jersey after failing to hit a backward pass to goalkeeper Edouard Mendy with the score 0-0 on the night. Carrasco was looking for the foul but Azpilicueta took unnecessary risks and was lucky that the VAR appeared implacable.
It remains to be seen how far Tuchel can take Chelsea; The high turnover of directors of this club makes it difficult to suspend cynicism for too long. But for now he seems to be getting the best of the team at his disposal, one in which he had no say in its composition.
And no one could ask for more than that.
Source: espn.co.uk
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