Thomas Tuchel praises 'relaxed' Romelu Lukaku after Chelsea take first-leg advantage against Tottenham in Carabao Cup
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Published 05/01/2022 at 22:55 GMT
An early goal from Kai Havertz and an unfortunate own goal from Ben Davies enabled Chelsea to secure a 2-0 advantage in the two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final. Tuchel insisted his side could have scored more against a sloppy Spurs, suggesting Chelsea adjusted well to a forced alteration to their defensive structure.
Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku
Image credit: Getty Images
Thomas Tuchel praised Chelsea and suggested his side "could have scored even more" as they beat Tottenham 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts capitalised on a sloppy performance from Spurs to take control of their two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final.
Kai Havertz's fifth-minute opener was followed by an unfortunate own goal from Ben Davies, the ball rebounding in from the Welshman's shoulder as team-mate Japhet Tanganga tried to head clear.
The returning Romelu Lukaku, back in the Chelsea side from the start following his explosive interview, and several other Chelsea players had chances to put the encounter beyond doubt, but a below-par Tottenham were able to retain a glimmer of hope ahead of next week's second leg.
"It seems like a deserved win. It is an excellent result," Tuchel told Sky Sports. "We could have scored even more.
"Against a team like Tottenham, it can be hard to create chances but we did create a lot."
Tuchel started with an atypical four-at-the-back formation, necessitated by a shortage of fit and available central defenders after Trevoh Chalobah's injury and Thiago Silva's positive Covid test.
"We played 4-4-2 when we had the ball, because there weren't five [defenders] left after Thiago Silva tested positive yesterday," addd Tuchel.
"The team was very focused and open minded and it was a real quality game. We didn't allow [many] chances."
Tuchel would have been pleased by an improved performance from Saul Niguez, effective and efficient alongside Jorginho in the absence of the isolating N'Golo Kante in the Chelsea midfield.
The performance of Belgian centre-forward Lukaku was reserved for particular praise from the Chelsea manager.
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Lukaku had been excluded after making apparent complaints about his usage since returning to the club in the summer, but Tuchel had no qualms with giving him an immediate recall to the starting side.
"I was pretty sure that he was not affected by it," Tuchel said of his striker. "He seemed to be relaxed and fine with the situation, and had mentally moved on.
"Romelu can handle pressure and adversity - he contributed a lot to our defensive set-up and created some chances. It was good. Romelu rested himself a little bit from the last game! The guys from the bench had huge commitment."
Former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, back at Stamford Bridge as manager of Tottenham, felt the first leg underlined the gap between the two London clubs.
"It was a difficult game from the start. Chelsea were much better than us. In the first half, we struggled a lot.
"We are talking about one of the best teams in the world in Chelsea. They won the Champions League last season. There is not a comparison between the two teams. Today we have seen the difference between the two teams."
The second leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be held on January 12.
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