‘It was successful against Tottenham! as Tuchel reveals one condition why he would use a back-four formation again
The Blues dominated Tottenham Hotspur, with our London rivals failing to have a shot on goal in the first half.
However, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel deployed a back-four in our 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, The Blues Fans have asked for the formation to be used again ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup game against Chesterfield at Stamford Bridge.
Now, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed the Blues will only move away from our usual back-three system if it ‘makes sense’ after playing four at the back during the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Blues were forced to play four at the back against Tottenham Hotspur after having defenders Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Andreas Christensen, Trevoh Chalobah and Thiago Silva all unavailable due to injury and Covid related issues.
“It has to make sense,” Tuchel responded to questions over whether or not four-back has become a viable option for the Blues moving forward.
“I always told you, why should we change? It’s successful and suits our players. For a back three you need three central defenders. For a back five you need three and two wingbacks.
“We simply did not have the players available to play a back five. We took the responsibility and the risk to shift into a back four while we were attacking. This is possible. The differences are not that big. If it suits the players and the positions, which it did for this game, we should be always open for it.
“The most important is how we play in the system and how lively we play, how courageous we play within the structure.
“Structure is important for us. We protect ourselves in the structure. Structure can help us to be stronger as a team but the most important will always be like how the players live up to it.
“They did very good, were very focused and very lively within the structure, disciplined at the same time. It suited us good for this game, we did good. It can stay an option but no matter what we play, how we play is more important.”