Mason Mount got the goal to put Chelsea 2-1 up against West Ham today, and what a goal it was.
The midfielder fired the ball on the full volley past Lukasz Fabianski for what will surely be a goal of the season contender. But in the end, as the midfielder himself said, it “meant nothing” as Chelsea crashed to a stunning 3-2 defeat.
Speaking to the BBC after the defeat, Mount was asked whether it was the fatigue of so many games back to back that was hurting the team.
“A lot of games, it can take a toll, but that’s not an excuse we can use – we come out here and want to win, it’s a derby. We don’t concede many, so that is something we need to look at,” Mount said after game.
“It is mistakes we haven’t made, tired minds, tired bodies, but we need to keep the standard high. We regroup and come back next game.”
So he’s kind of saying that tiredness is no excuse, but also admitting that the players are mentally and physically tired. If anything, the mistakes looked more like they came from overconfidence than tiredness. Certainly the injuries are limiting the team that Thomas Tuchel can put out, but players like Mount haven’t played an excessive amount just yet.
Let’s not forget that West Ham are playing in Europe too.
As Mount says, it’s not an excuse they can use.
