Thomas Tuchel picks Chelsea trio who made difference in win over West Ham

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has highlighted a trio of players who all came on as substitutes in the 75th minute to make the difference in his side’s 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday afternoon.

The trio, Romelu Lukaku, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech were all instantly involved in the play, immediately after their introduction.

 

Speaking after the game, Tuchel praised Pulisic, as well as his two other fellow substitute partners for their impact on Sunday’s win.

“I am happy for him (Pulisic),” he told Sky Sports. “I told him he had good impact. Romelu was involved with the penalty. Hakim was dangerous and Puli got the goal. He lacked confidence in recent matches.”

Up until the trio’s introduction, the Blues struggled to find too much creativity in the final third, limiting their number of good chances.

Tuchel provided his analysis of the west London side’s gritty performance after the game.

“It seemed a bit stuck,” he continued. “But we knew it. It can feel like this against West Ham who defend with a lot of bodies and discipline.

“We have to wait for the moments. We had some accelerations with Mason from midfield but nobody was joining. It felt stuck. We controlled it but could not find spaces.

“It was also not the moment to take every risk after our recent results. We wanted to control their counter attacks.

“The red card maybe opened more space to allow the late answer.”