Good problems to solve for Tuchel
Ahead of the trip to Elland Road, Thomas Tuchel said he would not have half an eye on Chelsea's FA Cup final against Liverpool on Saturday. Yet given the team the German selected, perhaps that wasn't entirely true. There was no Thiago Silva. N'Golo Kante wasn't risked either. While Timo Werner and Kai Havertz were only among the substitutes.
Everyone one of those decisions paid off. Tuchel's defence, which consisted of Trevoh Chalobah, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, kept a clean sheet. Jorginho, who was brought back in having recovered from injury, looked sharper than in recent outings. Meanwhile, the front three of Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku all got on the scoresheet.
The only negative was the first-half injury sustained by Mateo Kovacic. The Croatian was caught by a dangerous challenge by Daniel James that resulted in the Leeds United winger rightly being sent off. Tuchel was not confident the midfielder would be fit for Wembley on Saturday.
READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel fear becomes reality as Mateo Kovacic argues with Leeds supporters in Chelsea win
"For me, I am not a doctor and we need to wait for the examinations. It is very unlikely he can play," Tuchel said during his post-match press conference. "If he misses it I’m very disappointed because he was a clear starter. If you look at the quality today with Jorgi and him in central midfield when we played eleven against eleven, it was a very strong start. He is a key figure for us in midfield.
"He played against Liverpool – I think both matches from the beginning – and was very strong. He’s super, super hungry and determined, and excited to play these matches. And of course, he is in fear he will miss it. We will see. We need to wait. Maybe we have a miracle and we make it possible."
If Kovacic is ruled out, it will leave Tuchel with a difficult decision to make as to who replaces him, especially if Kante is not fit to play 90 minutes. But that isn't the only tough call the Chelsea head coach will have to make – and the win over Leeds perhaps only made things harder.
Does Chalobah keep his spot? As discussed in more detail below, there is certainly ample evidence as to why he perhaps should ahead of club captain Cesar Azpilicueta. And how does Tuchel set up his attack at Wembley? Prior to last night's win, the common consensus was Havertz would start. And the German may still given his energy out of possession is likely to be vital.
But Lukaku, who scored his third goal in two games, has certainly made his case as to why he should be in the starting XI for the FA Cup final. Pulisic too. "I'm happy he (Lukaku) scored again and he wanted to stay on the pitch to get his goal," said Tuchel. "I'm happy as well for Puli (Christian Pulisic) and Mason (Mount) that we were decisive with the offensive players. This is important for them because it gives them confidence.
The Chelsea head coach added: "There was nothing new that we did but we did our stuff with a much higher level of focus and discipline than in the last matches. I felt the team very calm and determined before the match and they delivered a performance that we got so used to over many weeks.
"We saw a big difference today and I'm happy. It was necessary – not only because of our situation – because it's good to arrive to a match like on Saturday with a calm mind. This was the foundation for that: this performance."
Chalobah proves a point
It's been a strange seven days for the 22-year-old. He was, somewhat surprisingly, overlooked against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday despite the recent errors from Azpilicueta and was then drafted into Chelsea Under-23s' defence for their Premier League 2 relegation-decider against Tottenham on Sunday.
But last night at Elland Road, Chalobah was back in the senior set-up and was handed a start on the right of the back three. He certainly didn't let Tuchel down. The academy graduate was reliable defensively and saw plenty of the ball: he attempted 141 passes across the 90 minutes and completed 94.3 percent of them, via WhoScored.
And is perhaps no coincidence that Chelsea kept their first clean sheet since the victory over West Ham at Stamford Bridge last month. That was the last match Chalobah started for the Blues. In fact, of the 16 clean sheets kept by Tuchel's side in the Premier League this term, the centre-back has been in the starting XI on ten occasions.
"He can deliver these performances and he played a lot, so there is no reason to be disappointed for him," Tuchel said when asked by football.london after last night's win. "He has an unbelievable amount of matches from the start [of the season] and we know this. It's normal to have a bit of an up and down in terms of positive performance, that is normal.
"We informed the team very late today who plays. He did maybe not expect it. It was the same against West Ham where he came in on short notice. In both matches he delivered. This is the level he can deliver. It's about consistency. He lacked it a little in the last weeks and we did some other choices which is normal. But he needs to stay humble, hard working and he can be a big part of it."
Mount joins an elite group
Tuchel opted to give Mount a rare game off on Saturday. The academy graduate was in the matchday squad for the 2-2 draw against Wolves but wasn't called upon. Something the Chelsea head coach may have regretted given the late capitulation from his side.
However, it did mean Mount was fresh for the trip to Elland Road. And he started the game in style. Just three minutes were on the clock when the 23-year-old fed the ball to Reece James down the Chelsea right and then burst towards the penalty box. He timed his arrival perfectly and guided a return pass from James into the top corner of Illan Meslier's net.
It was Mount's eleventh Premier League goal of the campaign, an impressive feat and one that makes him Chelsea's top goalscorer in the top flight this term. And in the second period, he teed up Christian Pulisic's strike with a cute flick on the edge of the Leeds penalty area.
That was assist number ten of the league season for the academy graduate – and it has resulted in Mount going down alongside Chelsea legends Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, and Didier Drogba as the only Blues players to claim ten goals and ten assists in single Premier League campaign.
Mount's influential performance didn't only benefit Chelsea, however. It also aided Everton, who are now managed by Lampard and are battling against Leeds to avoid relegation from the top flight. It's why the Blues legend said he would be sending a message to his former protege on Wednesday evening.
"It [Chelsea defeating Leeds] was useful. I'll send him a message later of thanks," Lampard told beIN SPORTS. "Mason is a fantastic player and I'm pleased he's getting those numbers because he is a player of such a high level and those numbers reflect it. So brilliant for him and Chelsea did us a favour getting that result."
