“I hope they feel confident”- Tuchel reveals why he start Loftus-Cheek and 2 others academy products in Southampton win
Before the international break Chelsea need to bounce back from two consecutive defeats.
However, the Southampton game was a game Chelsea needed to win and the Blues trash the saint 3-1 at Stamford Bridge following goals from Chalobah, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell
Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel named an interesting lineup, as he gave starts to academy products Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Trevoh Chalobah.
Explaining his starting lineup, Tuchel said before kick-off:
“It’s the first time for them to play together (Trevoh Chalobah, Hudson-Odoi, Loftus-Cheek) and I think they can show their qualities today.
“Callum has waited a long time, particularly to play in this position where he feels most comfortable. So this is a time for him to show this.
“We’ve gone for Ruben in midfield instead of Jorgi because we’ve overused him recently. He hasn’t had much of a pre-season and he’s played a lot of matches. Today we are facing a midfield that presses a lot, so we’ve gone for a midfielder with a bit more physicality in Ruben.
“Ruben also gives us the option to drive forward with the ball from midfield, he’s very good at travelling with the ball.
“Callum and Ruben both finished the game in Turin well. We’ve made a lot of changes but if you look at the team that ended against Juventus, it’s quite similar with Ruben, Callum, Trevoh and Chilly.
“I hope they feel confident enough because we need that today. We need to be brave and have quick decision-making to escape the press of Southampton.”
Tuchel got the reaction he was looking for as Chelsea won the game 3-1.