Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel rates their display in a hard fought 1-0 win vs Newcastle United. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has delivered his honest verdict on their display in a hard-fought 1-0 win against Newcastle United yesterday. The match took place at Stamford Bridge yesterday as it took a late Kai Havertz goal just before the 90th minute to give them three points on the day.
Coming into this match, the Blues had a lot of things to take care of on their plate, making this victory even sweeter in the end. Their injury crisis, uncertain situations behind the scenes and Newcastle’s great form made it a difficult fixture to deal with. That was noticeable on the pitch as they had to fight throughout the match to claw them over the finish line. It took a splendid lob from Jorginho and a clinical strike from Havertz to break the deadlock in the dying moments of the game.
Speaking in the post-match presser (h/t Football.London), Tuchel has conveyed that the West London club were “a bit lucky” to get a good result against the Magpies. He praised the visitors for the challenge they posed but was delighted to see his team not concede despite suffering constant pressure.
“We were, of course, a bit lucky today. We maybe had a hard time on the pitch because Newcastle was physical, well deserved, gave us difficulty to create chances and accelerate the game in the last 30 metres. It was so important not to concede. To have the quality with one chance, one quality pass and one quality finish to win it. Thank goodness we did it. You could see in the last four minutes what a goal does to the team. It was so easy to find the gaps, the switch of play, everything was so easy and so much more fluid.”
We were definitely not at our usual best as we suffered from quite a lot of issues coming into the Premier League fixture. The Toons themselves also made life difficult for us. However, top teams always find a way to win even when they do not perform to their best, which was the case yesterday.
For that reason, it was really important for us not to concede, just like the German boss has mentioned. After all, giving Eddie Howe’s side the momentum would have been the last thing we wanted. That being said, the players dug deep to get us over the line as Havertz and Jorginho combined to net the decisive goal on the day.
Perhaps, our struggles at times were also down to the off-the-field issue as we looked at our best after the late goal was scored. Let’s hope that the squad can keep their focus on the sporting side of things. After all, the mental block seems to have played a part, which is evident from how things developed after the goal.
Now we are in line to face off against Lille in the Champions League this Wednesday. We have a 2-0 lead from the first leg of the round of 16 tie to defend, making life slightly easier for the return leg. This victory would go a long way to instil confidence within the team in a time when things have been difficult for us.
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