Chelsea News: Thomas Tuchel asks benched players to fight for starts after Crystal Palace mauling
Speaking after his team’s win (h/t football.london) against Crystal Palace on Saturday, Thomas Tuchel asked his Chelsea players to make the most of their opportunities to lay claim to a starting berth in his team.
The German gaffer made three changes to the Chelsea team that beat FC Porto 2-0 last week. Callum Hudson-Odoi, Kurt Zouma, and Christian Pulisic were all included in the starting XI.
Among the notable absentees was the high-profile striking duo of Tammy Abraham and Timo Werner. And Tuchel wants them, as well as other stars, to rise to the occasion when he gives them a chance.
“Now is the time to fight for your place. If you have a place in the squad, now is the time to fight for your place on the pitch. If you are on the pitch, now is the time to fight to stay there. We didn’t make a lot of changes (at Crystal Palace) because we are in a race for the top four and we don’t judge games as more important.”
Tuchel is adamant in his aforementioned comments that there is no room for error or leniency at this stage of the season. Chances for fringe players could be few and far in between but he wants them to take it when they get it, like Pulisic and Havertz did at Selhurst Park.
Pulisic, who came into the side for Werner, scored a brace for the Blues as they won 4-1 on the night. This was also the first time under the former PSG manager’s reign that Chelsae have scored more than two goals.
But he still refused to cite this game as the best Blues performance since he took charge in January. For him, narrow wins against the bigger sides seems to hold equal, if not more, importance.
“We had very good performances against Tottenham, Atletico, Everton, Liverpool. So I don’t know [if Palace win was the best performance for Chelsea under him]. I don’t see it like this but we had a very good performance.”
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The win sees the Blues reclaim 4th spot as they aim to finish top 4 at the end of this season. There is no doubt that a finish in UEFA Champions League places would be a success due to the tight race for 4th spot right now.