The winter fixture period is one of great volume. Premier League teams that remain alive in multiple competitions play games every three or four days for a few weeks straight. While this has been a problem in the past, especially for Chelsea, the Blues possess one of the deepest squads in the world right now. The upcoming matches are relatively easy for Thomas Tuchel’s men. The schedule sprinkles in the occasional big six clash in between a number of winnable contests.
A lot has been made of the strength Tuchel has opted to go with during the recent stretch. He came under fire from fans after Chelsea’s two most important forwards—Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner—were injured in the home tie against Malmo. The German gaffer chose to go with another strong starting XI in Sweden on Tuesday, despite the comfortable win a few weeks ago, leading to a lot of uproar amongst Blues supporters. Regardless of fan opinions, Tuchel is smart for going with his first choice players against Malmo.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel’s selection of a strong starting XI in Sweden is justified as the club chases its second consecutive Champions League trophy
The 1-0 result on Tuesday should be enough to convince any Chelsea fan that Tuchel’s team selection was correct. The Blues struggled to take their chances on the night, despite their statistical dominance (3 xG, 23 shots, 11 shots on goal). Chelsea simply could not afford to drop points at this stage of the competition. Objective A on the evening was to secure all three points, Objective B was to beat Malmo by as many goals as possible. For those reasons, strength was needed, regardless of past results or so-called “inferior opposition.”
Juventus’ dominance in the Champions League thus far has seen the Italian giant jump out to an early lead in Group H. The Blues currently sit second after being beaten in Turin by a score of 1-0. Federico Chiesa’s goal to start the second half was the difference in the game, but perhaps more notably, it was the difference in who clinched a place in the Round of 16 on Tuesday. Juventus was able to qualify for the next round on matchday four due to its three-point lead in Group H, while Chelsea has to wait at least another matchweek.
The goal could also have huge implications on the remainder of the tournament. The Old Lady’s victory over the Blues means they currently hold all tiebreakers in the group: a three-point advantage, the head-to-head advantage and a higher goal differential. This puts the Italians in a good spot to emerge as the winner of Group H, pitting them against presumably weaker opposition in the first round of the knockout stages. Chelsea will have another crack at Juventus on November 23 from the Bridge, but anything less than a decisive victory could prove detrimental to the Blues’ hopes of repeating as UCL champions.
Tuchel’s team’s current position forced the German manager’s hand for the remainder of the tournament. It should’ve already been priority No. 1 and if it wasn’t, it is now. Chelsea needs to field its strongest sides until the final group stage match in order to try to get any leg up on Juventus that it possibly can. Further, a strong team was absolutely necessary in Sweden seeing as a plethora of the Blues’ most important players are missing and goal difference is massive. N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Romelu Lukaku, Mason Mount and Timo Werner were absent for their team’s trip to Malmo and now face a race against the clock to get fit for the return leg against the Old Lady. Malmo may not seem daunting on paper, but Tuchel was always right for fielding a near-full strength starting XI during the trip to Sweden because three points are vital at this moment in time.
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