Chelsea have decisions to m ake ahead of FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough.
Speaking in the post-match press conference as quoted by Football London, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel shared his thoughts on the fans chanting Roman Abramovich‘s name, handling the external noise surrounding the club and the half-time talk in the dressing room following a disappointing first-half display.
Coming into the game, it was a difficult week for the Blues, with long time club owner Roman Abramovich announcing his desire to sell the club. Most of the pre-match talk was surrounding this breaking news and Chelsea had to make a statement win to divert the attention back to football.
Thankfully they did just that with a clinical 4-0 win against Burnley. A trip to Turf Moor is far from an easy ride but the European Champions dealt with it decisively and swiftly in the second half.
It did not seem like happening in the first half though, with a tepid Chelsea drawing 0-0 against Burnley going into the break. However, a completely contrasting performance in the second half, with a brace from Kai Havertz and goals from Reece James and Christian Pulisic meant that Chelsea eventually emerged victorious over Burnley by a four-goal margin.
When asked what changed at half-time, Tuchel said that he just had to give his team that little extra push and remind them on what they needed to do
“It was very calm. We reminded everyone what we wanted to do and where we needed to step up.”
He added that the pitch was very dry, which added to the Blues’ struggles to get the ball moving. It certainly appeared to be the case in the first half as Chelsea gave away the ball numerous times. Thankfully Reece James’s goal opened the floodgates for the Blues.
“The goal opened the game and gave us belief and confidence and then our attacks were more fluid.”
There was a controversial moment before the game started when a section of Chelsea fans started chanting Abramovich’s name, when the two teams got together to show their support for Ukraine in these tough times. Speaking about this incident, Tuchel did not hide his disappointment.
“It’s not the moment to do this. We show respect as a club and we need our fans to commit to this minute of applause. At this moment, we do it for Ukraine and there is no second opinion about the situation there. “
Despite all the distraction surrounding the change in ownership at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea need to cut out the external noise and concentrate on the upcoming games. The German manager was confident in this regard, that his team were already able to do that successfully.
“It is possible because we do it.”
The Blues face Norwich in the Premier League next, and although a title pursuit seems out of reach, they are in a fairly comfortable position to finish in the top-4 places and will want to continue in the same vein. They also have Lille in the Champions League round of 16 second leg and will be confident of progressing to the next round thanks to a 2-0 advantage from the first leg.
A very tricky and challenging period awaits Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel will be hoping that irrespective of what happens with respect to the administrative side of the club, his players will be able to focus on football and challenge for the Champions League and FA Cup, between now and the end of the season.
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