Thomas Tuchel explains his decision to bench Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour against Manchester United
Speaking in an interview (h/t Metro), Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel revealed why Billy Gilmour was left out of the matchday squad against Manchester United.
The Blues lined up with N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in central midfield as the Scotsman was left out. Jorginho was also dropped to the bench for Chelsea.
This would have alarmed Chelsea fans, but Tuchel has now revealed that the decision to omit Gilmour was not because of an injury to him. Instead, he was just a part of squad-rotation.
“It’s a decision. We had this decision in the first game I think for Andreas Christensen, and we had it already for Emerson. This is the way it is.”
No cause for concern
Nevertheless, Tuchel acknowledged that it was a hard decision to leave out the Scotsman. The 19-year-old midfielder is yet to play a minute of Premier League football under the former PSG boss.
“It was also a hard decision for Billy Gilmour, because Billy played very well in the Cup. He’s been very, very strong in training. He gets also the hard decision and it was about judging all the alternatives we have.”
The youngster last played in the 1-0 FA Cup win for Chelsea against Barnsley. Apart from that, Tuchel has not even brought him on once, let alone start him, in the Premier League. (h/t transfermarkt)
But it doesn’t seem to be anything personal. The youngster missed the start of the season due to an injury and only appeared in two games under Frank Lampard in the league during this campaign.
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Nevertheless, he would be hoping to play a role when the Blues travel to Anfield on Thursday. Top-4 rivals Liverpool have ended their losing streak in the league and are now just a point behind Tuchel’s side in the table.
