Thomas Tuchel is taking the positives from Chelsea’s nervy and disjointed 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park.
Chelsea’s sole goal came in the 45th minute from a Jorginho penalty after Ben Chilwell was fouled in the box by Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Jorginho had a penalty saved by Everton keeper, Jordan Pickford at the Euros last summer, but he managed to slot it home this time around.
The game was far from free flowing with several stoppages throughout the match, and both sides still shaking off pre-season rustiness.
“It was maybe not the most exciting Premier League game. Seven minutes of extra time in the first half, ten minutes in the second half tells the story. Lots of interruptions and no team could find the rhythm,” said Tuchel in his post-match press conference.
However, Chelsea will be pleased they managed to pick up the three points, something Tuchel reiterated after the match.
“A win is a win, and this is super important. We played at Everton, and we’ve struggled over recent years to get points here. We have things to improve, but this isn’t a surprise. Most of the time, I’m happy with the first half, the second, we lost too many balls and weren’t as dominant. We struggled physically but showed the spirit to get the clean sheet.
“It’s important to build confidence, belief, an atmosphere, be open for criticism to improve and be happy with the things we did well.
“We struggled with the moments, to feel the moments, for the change of speed and switch of play. We didn’t maybe want to take the risk in the final 25 metres… The ball was stuck between the halves.”
Tuchel also spoke on his backline of Cesar Azplicueta, Thiago Silva, and new signing Kalidou Koulibaly and how he plans to manage their minutes this season.
“All three of our players in the back three are in their thirties, and we struggled a bit in general at the end of the game. We need to improve our physical level, and we are on it. Thiago is a key player in the middle of the defence right now, but we need to move more on the ball, to invest more with runs.”
Tuchel briefly spoke on Marcus Alonso as well, who was not a part of the squad this evening. When asked whether the Spanish defender would be joining Barcelona, he simply said: “He tries to leave, and we agreed to this. It would make no sense to put him on the pitch today.”
Chelsea will host Tottenham next week at Stamford Bridge in their second Premier League match of the season.
