‘Pretty impressive’: Thomas Tuchel reacts to performance of 24-year-old Chelsea star – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was impressed with Ben Chilwell, who bagged the second goal in the club’s 2-0 Champions League triumph over Porto last night.
The Blues faced Porto in Seville during the first leg of the quarter-final tie, and they managed to find the back of the net with two of their three shots on target.
Mount opened the scoring in the 32nd minute with a terrific turn and first-time shot to beat the goalkeeper. Chilwell bagged the club’s second five minutes from time.
The 24-year-old pounced on a poor first touch from Jesus Corona before rounding the goalkeeper to register his maiden Champions League goal.
The 2-0 win has handed the Blues with an excellent chance of making it to the last four of the competition, and Tuchel was delighted for Chilwell.
He told Chelseafc.com: “I was really pleased with Chilly for applying pressure and forcing the error which gave him the opportunity to score.”
“He pushed on, finished well and scored a big away goal for us. He showed a lot of composure because it was not easy to score so late.
“It was a very physically demanding match for Chilly so to use the mistake of the defender and then stay very calm, because he’s not used to scoring, was pretty impressive.”
Chilwell has had a tough few months under Tuchel, who has regularly swapped him with Marcos Alonso for the left wing-back role.
Alonso has impressed as he is more accustomed to playing in the position, but yesterday’s goal will help Chilwell’s prospects of starting regularly.
The Blues make the trip across London to face Crystal Palace on Saturday, and Chilwell will most likely get the nod over Alonso.
The club are currently one point behind fourth-placed West Ham United. They have a terrific record against Palace with six wins in a row.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
Read: ‘Big game player’: Chelsea fans praise 22-year-old’s performance vs Porto.