Another game, another trophy. Chelsea have two in our last two competitive matches, and there was indeed little doubt that tonight’s Super Cup was indeed treated as a competitive outing, rather than just a glorified friendly or the European version of the Community Shield. With our opponents, Villarreal thinking along similar lines, it made for an entertaining, emotional, and dramatic 120 minutes in Belfast — one for which we might pay the price later on, but one for which we now have yet another European trophy to show.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel was certainly proud of his players afterwards, praising their physical and especially mental efforts and strength, specifically after Villarreal leveled things in the second half once our initial impetus faded.
“Physically this was the worst thing that could happen to us, playing extra time. Mentally, it was the best thing to happen.
“[We decided to] use this match to win it and nothing else. We went with the team that played against Arsenal and Tottenham to be in the best shape possible. Are we 100% of our capacity? No, absolutely not. But we are ready to play football matches at a certain level. We had to suffer because you could see that after 35 minutes that things got hard for us [but] I was very impressed with our reaction after 75 minutes because we had total control of the game again. We played a very good match until the 120th minute.
“So there were a lot of good things. Physically, we overused players who were not ready to play 120 minutes. We only have two days now until the next match against Crystal Palace so that does not help us. But this is the schedule. We came with many players who didn’t even play a friendly match so far. This the situation and it helps nobody if we say we’re not ready. We have to adapt, to be as ready as we can be in our mindset, and give our best on Saturday.”
-Thomas Tuchel; source: Football.London
Ready or not, here comes the season. Fortunately, we have a strong squad precisely for this season. No room for excuses, just for dedication, commitment, and a winning attitude. We passed a big test today; here’s to the next one in just a few days.
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
