Thomas Tuchel has explained his reason for dropping Ben Chilwell and Reece James for tonight’s clash against Malmo.
The German made three changes to the Chelsea side that won 3-0 at Newcastle on Saturday for their trip to Sweden in their Champions League encounter.
James, who scored twice against the Magpies, along with Chilwell was dropped to the bench with Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso filling in.
With Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku still sidelined, the rest of the team have been stepping up to contribute goals, including the full-backs, and the intensity Tuchel requires means he’s keen to rotate his squad.
‘It’s a tough one because they have been so decisive. It is an intense position, you saw how much they invested with a lot of sprints,’ Tuchel said.
‘We have a lot of matches. At the same time we have good guys from behind so we can keep the same intensity levels hopefully up high in these positions and let Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta start.’
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was the other change for tonight’s clash, coming in for N’Golo Kante in midfield.
Chelsea are said to be taking precautionary measures over Kante after he complained of some muscle tightness in training on Monday and so didn’t travel with the squad.
It means 25-year-old Loftus-Cheek is given a chance to impress and Tuchel was surprised to discover it’s the player’s first start in the Champions League for six years.
‘[Ruben Loftus-Cheek] is a bit like the type of [Mateo] Kovacic. He likes to drive the ball,’ Tuchel added.
‘The ball is very safe with him. He is using his physical ability more and more. We took the decision to build up his energy at home so he becomes more robust.
‘I didn’t know he had not played from the start in the Champions League for a long time but hopefully it’s a good thing!’
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