Sunday afternoon in west London was not pleasant. The air temperature was a scorching 34 degrees, and it was even hotter on the Stamford Bridge pitch as players from both Chelsea and Tottenham ferociously competed in Premier League action.
For the benefit of those representing the two clubs, one-minute water breaks were approved across the two halves by the Premier League. They provided the players an opportunity to rehydrate and – momentarily at least – cool off. Given the pace and intensity of the game, a brief respite was much needed.
Yet the pauses in action also provided the two head coaches, Thomas Tuchel for Chelsea and Antonio Conte for Tottenham, opportunities to reaffirm tactical instructions and outline tweaks that would hopefully give them the edge across the remainder of the half.
READ MORE Every word Thomas Tuchel said on Chelsea draw, Antonio Conte, Anthony Taylor, Kante injury
Tuchel was the busier of the two coaches during the water breaks, especially in the first half. And we at football.london kept an eye on how the German used the (roughly) minute-long stoppage to Chelsea's advantage against Tottenham.
First half
It was as the match ticked into its 27th minute that the Chelsea players walked over toward the home dugout for the first drinks break of the contest. Ice-cold bottles of water were handed over by members of the Blues, and wet towels were handed out to each player– some wrapped them around their heads, others over their necks.
Tuchel walked took a few paces around his group before he gathered them together in a huddle close to the touchline.
Notes in hand, the Chelsea head coach barked specific instructions towards his attacking trio of Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz, whose movement had caused Spurs problems.
A small tactics board was then handed to Tuchel, and he held it against his knee to deliver further guidance to his side, who let Tottenham 1-0 after Kalidou Koulibaly's thunderous opener, with a black marker. By the time Tuchel was finished, Tottenham's players were waiting to restart the game in their half.
Still, the German wasn't quite done. As his players started to disperse, Tuchel got the attention of Reece James and quickly gave him a final few pointers. The academy graduate had been given a specific marking job on Son Heung-min and continued to do it excellently until being moved to right wing-back later in the game.
Second half
The second water break of the game occurred in the aftermath of Tottenham's equaliser – and the first altercation between Tuchel and Conte. As a result, it was far less structured from a Chelsea perspective.
There was no tactics board on this occasion; Tuchel instead went around to every player to issue short, snappy messages after he had been pulled away from the crowd of bodies in front of the tunnel. He again got his players in a huddle, but it was brief as he quickly broke away and called Cesar Azpilicueta back from his warm-up.
Chelsea's club captain was set to be introduced for Jorginho, who, up until his mistake in the build-up to Pierre-Emile Højbjerg's goal, had played excellently. Tuchel used the final seconds of the second water break to speak with Azpilicueta and outline his role and the position changes that would take place: Azpilicueta to centre-back, James to right wing-back, Ruben Loftus-Cheek to central midfield.
The switch paid off, too, as it was James that fired home Chelsea's second goal of the afternoon. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the Blues as Harry Kane headed a last-gasp equaliser after referee Anthony Taylor failed to spot a foul on Marc Cucurella in the build-up to the goal. Then came Tuchel vs Conte Part II, and the game ended with the two coaches being shown red cards.
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