Thomas Tuchel’s top of the table Chelsea is still hunting
By Travis Tyler
One of the hardest things to do after a big success like winning the Champions League is to stay motivated. Far too many teams get to a place, assume they have made it, and let up just enough to prove that they have made nothing.
This happened just last season in the Premier League for Chelsea. The Blues briefly went top of the table and they started to believe. Almost immediately, the bad December and January began that saw Frank Lampard sacked. Thomas Tuchel came in and won the Champions League, but he made sure to keep the squad humble.
In preseason, thoughts of winning the Champions League were wiped away. Everyone was starting from square one. This allowed the likes of Trevoh Chalobah to get a chance in a Champions League winning squad. At the start of this season, Tuchel called Chelsea hunters. They had to hunt down Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League.
Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea is top of the table, but the squad and manager aren’t acting like it. They still see themselves as hunters. They have to. The moment a team starts seeing themselves as the hunted instead of the hunter, something changes and things become much more dangerous.
One of the ways Tuchel has kept this edge is his rotation. Week to week, game to game, it is always somewhat unclear as to who will start. Ben Chilwell had to earn his way back into the team. Mason Mount is having to post wisdom teeth complications. No one is jumping right back in from injury or a loss of form. They all have to earn it.
Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have taken advantage of being able to earn a spot. The whole team has taken advantage as they have pushed each other in training and on the pitch. Tuchel may have preferences as to who he wants to play, but he certainly doesn’t have favorites.
It probably also helps the type of season Chelsea has had thus far. The Blues started with a slate of huge games. The worst time to slip up in any season is out of the gate and Tuchel made it very clear that the Blues had to hit the ground running. They did, and that has bolstered them for the run of easier matches that just finished. It also helps that, despite being first, Chelsea isn’t so far ahead that they can’t look back. Liverpool especially is keeping pace and Manchester City aren’t far behind. The Champions League group followed a similar format after the loss to Juventus with Chelsea needing to come up in a big way in the reverse fixture.
Next. Chelsea could really use Romelu Lukaku to make a point. dark
There is little talk amongst Chelsea players of a title challenge. There is no challenge yet, just the hunt. The hunt has to go on all season to ensure Chelsea come out ahead. Tuchel has laid the groundwork for this, repeatedly and consistently. The Blues have to fight for everything they have and get and Tuchel won’t allow anything less.