Tuchel's Blues show mettle of champions
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LONDON • Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea showed the resilience that can make them Premier League champions after frustrating Liverpool despite being a man down for 45 minutes.
The Blues last won the English league in 2016-17 and finished fourth last season, but had an outstanding second half to the campaign, culminating in their second Champions League crown.
Kai Havertz's looping header put the visitors in front before Reece James was sent off in first-half stoppage time for handball on his own goal line and Mohamed Salah converted the resulting penalty.
But Jurgen Klopp's men failed to make their man advantage count in the second half as Chelsea showed resilience to dig out a precious point that felt more like a win given the circumstances.
"We showed great resilience, deserved the point," said Tuchel. "I cannot praise the team enough. I do not know if there is a harder stadium than at (Manchester) City or Anfield to go one man down.
"Suddenly, the world was upside down. It felt like it would never end. I was hoping we would survive and take a well-deserved point."
The two sides and Manchester United, with Cristiano Ronaldo back, are expected to pose Manchester City a much tougher challenge as they bid to retain the Premier League this term.
The first heavyweight clash of the campaign did not disappoint with a raucous home atmosphere the accompaniment to 90 minutes of high drama that left both sides level with seven points from three games, behind leaders Tottenham, who have three wins.
Klopp insisted he was not too despondent with the draw, saying: "Everybody thinks playing against 10 men is easy, it is an advantage in possession but their defensive structure only changes in that they defend a little deeper.
"It's really early in the season. We drew against obviously the best team in Europe last year. That's okay, it's a good start. Three games, seven points, let's go."
The Premier League now takes a break for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and other friendlies. It will resume on Sept 11.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
