Tuchel lauds teens as virus-hit Blues win

LONDON • Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel praised his academy players for stepping up on short notice and helping the Blues to a 2-0 win at Brentford in the League Cup on Wednesday.

Teenagers Harvey Vale, Jude Soonsup-Bell and Xavier Simons were included in the starting 11 for the quarter-final after a string of Covid-19 cases left the Chelsea squad depleted of seven players.

"They did well. They hadn't trained for a week because the academy was closed for Covid-19," Tuchel said.

"We invited them into training two days ago, so two sessions with us. They listened carefully and did their jobs, they did good.

"We had a brilliant performance and a brilliant result, given the circumstances. We were very disciplined, very structured and had individual quality. Well done to the boys. I'm super happy."

The trio of academy players were taken off in the second half, with the game still at 0-0.

Tuchel brought on regulars Jorginho, Reece James, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and N'Golo Kante after the break to great effect, with James' cross leading to a Pontus Jansson own goal and Jorginho scoring a penalty in the 85th minute.

"We knew we could have five big changes with a lot of quality, and also fresh legs because they were not overused," Tuchel added.

"That helped us a lot and was needed. I'm a big supporter of five changes."

Chelsea were drawn against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals, after Spurs beat West Ham 2-1.

"The Tottenham draw is nice for our fans, a London derby, very difficult but we are looking forward to it," said Tuchel, whose side visit Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank, meanwhile, lamented that his side were made to pay after missing several chances.

"We should have been in front. According to the game plan, we gave nothing away and they couldn't find a solution, and we had by far the best chances in the first half," he said.

"So first half, tick! But in the second half we struggled to create anything.

"We defended well and gave nothing away until the 80th minute, when we needed to do better."

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE