Thomas Tuchel reveals half time team talk that inspired second-half comeback win vs Manchester City
Speaking after his side’s 2-1 win vs Manchester City (h/t football.london) courtesy of a late Marcos Alonso goal, Thomas Tuchel revealed what was said at half time that inspired such a massive comeback from Chelsea.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for the Citizens just before the 45-minute mark after an error from Andreas Christensen. A late penalty from Sergio Aguero amounted for nothing as he fluffed his lines, meaning Chelsea went into the break trailing by a 1-0 scoreline.
But things changed in the second half. A goal from Hakim Ziyech drew Thomas Tuchel’s side level. And a scrappy yet priceless goal from Marcos Alonso handed Chelsea the win in added time.
The comeback win saw Blues go up to 3rd in the league table, leading 4th-placed Leicester City by 1 point. The Blues look all set to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season via a top 4 finish.
Mentality giants
And the German boss stated that the players could stage a turn-around because they didn’t ‘lose their heads’ and went into the second half believing that the scoreline was 0-0.
“At half time we said to ourselves ‘let’s continue like it is 0-0, don’t lose our heads now because of the last three minutes, take it as a 0-0 and from there we go.”
Tuchel added that it was Ziyech’s goal that was the telling factor and what swayed momentum in favour of the Londoners.
“The momentum changed completely with the goal. I could feel it, the momentum was growing, the confidence was growing and we were adding more and more quality and pressure.”
More Chelsea News:
- Transfer News: Major boost for Chelsea in pursuit of Ajax man Nicolas Tagliafico
- Chelsea keen on €60m-rated Robert Lewandowski
- Transfer News: Manchester City enter the race for Chelsea target Declan Rice
Chelsea fans would now hope that this win serves as a morale booster for the Blues when they face Manchester City again this season in the UEFA Champions League final on 29th May.
