Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton this weekend in the Premier League and for this game, Thomas Tuchel chose to make a few changes to his usual starting line-up.
Jorginho was one of the players who has been a regular feature in midfield under the new boss but this weekend, he was replaced by N’Golo Kante who made his first start under Tuchel. Apart from Kante, defender Kurt Zouma also got to start for the Blues.
Despite dropping two vital points in the race to the top-four, Thomas Tuchel seemed to be really happy with the French pair’s performance vs the Saints.
‘It is a process and I’ve learnt a lot of positives about Zouma,’ told reporters, as per Chelseafc.com. ‘I was very happy with Kurt’s performance.
‘We decided very late to put him on the pitch but he put in a very good game. I thought he was solid, he was a presence back there and he was very clear in his actions. He performed his role at a top level, which pleased me.
‘With N’Golo, I saw how well he’s been playing in training and of course I’ve known about him for many years,.
‘I’m very happy now that I am his coach and I have the chance to work with him every day.
‘This guy, wow. He steals every ball that is around 10 metres. We need to use these balls better, when N’Golo steals and wins possession for us, we need to react quicker and use these to our advantage. We need to attack the space behind the last line better and we need to use our speed better to create more chances.
‘I’ve learnt many things and as I said earlier, it is a process. I’m seeing more and more of my squad and where we can improve. But specifically on N’Golo and Kurt, I’m very happy with them.’
Will Kurt Zouma & Kante start for Chelsea against Atletico?
Kante and Kurt Zouma seemed to have fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea under the new boss but Tuchel has clearly not forgotten about them.
After their stout display vs Southampton, some experts believe that both of them could be in line to start vs Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in midweek but we are pretty confident this will not be the case.
Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic are the two holding midfielders that Tuchel is trusting upon right now and the last thing the manager would want is to make unnecessary changes for such a key game.
Thiago Silva will miss this week’s game due to an injury but still, Kurt Zouma will not find a place in the first XI since Christensen will come back into the side on Tuesday.
