Tuchel and Havertz' reactions to Fulham, Mason Mount injury update, plus Emma Hayes praises Tuchel
Some Sunday morning updates for you in the absence of my Tweets!
Happy Sunday guys! Back here with some quick updates before I head out for the day on a bank holiday weekend here in the UK.
I’m actually missing being able to tweet, but I’m still pleased I have this platform to be able to get my thoughts down and news out regardless!
So here is the reaction from our 2-0 win over Fulham yesterday (read my own reaction here) from both Thomas Tuchel and Kai Havertz, as well as Tuchel’s Mason Mount injury update, and some great words on Tuchel from Chelsea women’s manager, Emma Hayes.. Enjoy!
Havertz first, and he was in great spirits after scoring both goals and performing fantastically…
“This win is crucial.
“We have to come in the top four, that’s our goal for the season. We rotated a little bit, we had some new players on the pitch, and Fulham had one week to train for the game, so we did well.
“It was a very good for me to score an early goal. It gave me a little bit of confidence. The position is very good for me, something between a false nine and a number 10. I’m very happy to help the team with the goals. I hope I can continue on Wednesday like this.
“When you get assists like this it is easy to score goals, so a big thanks to them.
“We have a lot of quality players, it is fun to play with them, we are very young. It’s easy to create chances and that’s the aim for the strikers, to score goals. When you have players like this behind your back it’s good. I am very lucky they helped me like this.
“The team-mates have helped me and the other new players very much,’ he added.
“Sometimes you need help from other players. They gave me a lot of confidence and helped me. I am very happy to have these team-mates, and I am very happy to score and give them a little bit back.
“I am always desperate to start games. I play football to play games. I know we have a lot of quality players in the team. Sometimes other players play, and to be honest the other players did very good in the last two matches.
“I keep on going, I train hard, I give my best when I’m on the pitch. The first half of the season was tough for me, I had Covid and was a little bit injured. Now I’m fully back. Of course I know we have a lot of quality players so sometimes you have to stay on the bench.
“Team wins are the most important thing for us, more important than your own ambitions or goals. I am always happy to help the team, and we will see on Wednesday.”
Thankfully for us, the German international is really starting to hit some fine form at the business end of the season, just in time for our exciting run in!
The boss also spoke, and firstly he provided a positive injury update on Mason Mount, and it sounds like he will be OK after getting a whack and landing hard on his back.
Tuchel said:
“I hope Mason will be okay. It was my decision to take him off. There was not any doctor or physio who told me to take him off. I saw him landing hard, but it was the moment anyway when we wanted to take him off if we had the chance, at around 70 minutes. So there was a bit of playing it safe with him, but I haven't been given any new information about a problem for him, so he should be fine for Wednesday.”
Sounds precautionary more than anything, which is great.
Meanwhile, the boss described the Fulham win as ‘perfect’ and he was also in fine form and spirits after the match.
He said:
“It was a perfect game, in that respect. I’m absolutely happy and the team gets full credit for this game. This was a big win. Now we arrive with a clear mind, we have nothing to regret and nothing else to think about except Wednesday’s game.”
The boss was pleased with Kai Havertz, but feels he can still improve…
'There is still room for improvement from him [Kai Havertz], but for today I’m very happy, of course, because he was decisive, he was involved together with Timo as double-strikers, and with Mason and Hakim as the four offensive guys. He was always involved in dangerous attacks and in dangerous situations.
“For me he is the individual example of what was good about the players on the pitch today who maybe had a tough decision go against them last Tuesday. Kai did not play with the attitude of thinking “now they need me” and “I wanted to have more time in Madrid” and “why do I only play now against Fulham?”. That was absolutely not the case.
“He took his chance, he showed up, and this is what we need all the time, but especially in situations like this. We need guys who are fully committed. That means if you have a chance then you show up. If you have five minutes, 15 minutes or a whole game, show that you are ready and give the manager a headache for the next game. That is what he did and it is an example of what the whole team did. That’s why they get full credit from me.
“I feel we have nothing to lose. We are in the middle of the race, I don’t think it has been decided yet, but it was such a big win to keep the advantage for which we worked so hard in the last few weeks.
“Now it is very important that we have a clear mind and nothing to regret for the Wednesday game, and then the next league games. If you look at our fixtures you will see how tough it is and we take nothing for granted.
“We work hard, keep our heads down and our feet on the ground and try to do the best we can together as a group.”
He was also full or praise for Mason Mount…
“He has the full package, mentally, physically and in terms of his talent and most importantly his character. Both his feet are on the ground and he is a nice guy. I get the feeling that he comes to Cobham every day to learn something, to get new experiences. He is a guy who can recover very fast, he is a very physical player, is fully adapted to Premier League football. He is full of self-confidence, but in a very positive way.
“So it’s a pleasure to have him, a pleasure to be at his side to guide him and support him. It’s impressive because he seems to be not affected by all the praise when he gets it, or the criticisms, and this is maybe the most important thing. He seems to me like a guy who likes the sport, who feels an obligation to make the most out of it and he absolutely wants every win badly. So it’s a top mix.”
Finally, Chelsea women’s manager Emma Hayes has been describing her recent meeting with Thomas Tuchel, and she can not sing his praises high enough…
Hayes said:
“I had a lovely encounter with Thomas Tuchel.
“He’s a fantastic guy, a really open-minded, progressive coach. He loves the team. He knows women’s football. We had a chat about his time at PSG. We just exchanged conversation in and around Chelsea to be honest with you.
“I’ve been here a long time, so I welcomed him to the club. I’m really excited about him being here. He is top coach, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of interactions between us in his time. There’s a reason why the men’s team are performing like they are and if we can mirror that success side by side, how fantastic that would be.
“I’ve always said this about Chelsea – we always talk about winning in this place,” Hayes, who has won nine trophies in her nine years in charge, continued. “Now, that’s what comes with the territory and we don’t mind the pressure, the expectations, the tags, the titles, whatever comes with it.
“We just know that we’re a club that want to be in winning positions. It’s great to think that both the men’s and the women’s teams have reached these stages, but as I always say, we’re about winning things, not just getting here.”
Enjoy your day guys!
Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport)