Chelsea made 8 changes for this game, using all sorts of squad players in all sorts of unfamiliar position.
It’s the kind of thing some managers wouldn’t like, but in speaking to BT Sport, Thomas Tuchel explained his logic very well.
Rather than keep playing the same team and try to manage games by taking a lead then slowing the tempo, he wants to play fresh players whenever possible, and keep the speed and intensity high for 90 minutes every match.
Thomas Tuchel to BT Sport: "It's the game to change and to trust other players.
"We don't want to manage our games, we want to play at a high intensity level." #UCL
— Adam Newson (@AdamNewson) December 8, 2021
Of course that’s quite a difficult thing to do, especially when you’ve got a lot of injuries, and that’s why you get odd lineups like this.
But in the end, Tuchel’s philosophy should come good. If we can get through games like this, we will have plenty of fresh legs to bring into the team against Leeds this weekend, ready to go at full speed and full intensity all over again.
