“A lot of things changed after that” – Thomas Tuchel reveals turning point for Chelsea this season
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has opened up about where it all turned around for the surging Blues this season.
Chelsea currently sit atop the Premier League table, three points ahead of holders Manchester City. Tuchel's side has been synonymous with domination this season, especially in the Premier League.
However, Tuchel believes Chelsea's stellar run started after their losses against Manchester City and Juventus in September. Chelsea lost both games 1-0, and surprisingly had just one shot on target across both games.
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Since then, Tuchel's side has scored goals galore, and created plenty of chances as well. Goals have come from all areas of the pitch. Even injuries to strikers Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner haven't slowed them down.
Speaking to CBS Sports about the changes made to the team after those matches, Tuchel said:
"A lot of things changed after that game. The defeat against Manchester City and the defeat against Juventus, sometimes you need this to question yourself, to learn from these defeats."
The Chelsea manager added:
"We were, kind of, in control of this game in Turin, but we lacked a rhythm; we lacked precision; we lacked, mayb,e a certain free spirit to take more risks in the right zone on the pitch. We changed a bit the approach; it sharpened our mentality, and we found (our way) back into our best identity and best shape."
"The best way to defend is always to constantly keep on attacking" - Thomas Tuchel on Chelsea's goalscoring form this season
Chelsea have been in incredible goalscoring form this season. They have scored 30 goals while conceding just four in the Premier League so far, which includes a 7-0 thrashing of Norwich City.
The Blues have already had 15 different goalscorers in the Premier League this season.
Chelsea's tally of 15 different goalscorers in the league this season is more than any other team
Tuchel's men also scored three against Leicester City on Saturday. They could've added a few more if not for the offside flag. Speaking about Chelsea's improved attacking play this season, Tuchel said:
"The best way to defend is always to constantly keep on attacking. Sometimes it happens like this that a goal has huge influence not only on your team, but you see also that sometimes if you're one goal ahead, the other team plays with a bit more courage, a bit of the attitude that they have nothing else to lose."
He added:
"There are not many goals normally in football matches, and they have a huge influence on the attitude, on confidence; so it is not necessarily only on us when we maybe cannot score any more."
Tuchel talked about how he wants Chelsea to attack for 90 minutes, saying:
"In general, I would say that we try to create the most chances possible; we try to attack over 90-94 minutes, and we absolutely want to install a behaviour that we constantly play like it's 0-0."
"We do our stuff on the highest level and do it relentlessly, with a certain spirit and quality, not to be influenced if it's away game, home game, what kind of situation it is, what competition and what score."
Tuchel also spoke about Chelsea's dependence on goalkeepers. He said in this regard:
"At the beginning of the season, we were relying too much on Edouard and Kepa's qualities in goal; we conceded a few more chances, but given the preseason, the fact that players came from big tournaments, this can happen sometimes. We are working on it."
Talking about Chelsea's improvement after the losses to City and Juventus, Tuchel said:
"In the last games, it was absolutely like this; we had clean sheets,; we deserved to have clean sheets, and we kept the expected goals very, very low. This is something that we look into; you cannot rely just on results."
"The result is too often misleading in football; such a huge factor is also luck and bad luck in games. We are looking into this, but recently we are very happy with the development."
Chelsea sit in second place in their Champions League group. They are three points off leaders Juventus. Speaking about the importance of taking top spot in the group, Tuchel said:
"If you ask me personally it's always a better situation for the next round (if you win the group); you can start with an away game; you have a second leg at home, and for m,e you have this little advantage. In general, it depends on personal feelings, on the draw, on the situation."
However, the Chelsea boss also highlighted the importance of making sure The Blues qualify for the Round of 16 in the first place. They wouldn't want to gamble on second spot in pursuit of the top. He added:
"First of all, we don't gamble on this; we do not look at other groups at this stage because we are not qualified, and we have to focus on that. Before we talk about winning the group, we should make sure that we qualify, and by doing so, we try to win games. This is what we do; you cannot gamble on first place, second place. That is only a distraction."
Chelsea take on Juventus on Tuesday in a game that could decide the group winner.