Thomas Tuchel hailed Kalidou Koulibaly as a "strong personality, a strong player" after Chelsea's 3-1 pre-season victory over Udinese – and the Blues head coach also laid out how he will prepare his players for the Premier League opener against Everton at Goodison Park.
In a week's time, Chelsea begin their 2022/23 top-flight campaign. There is still much work to be done by Tuchel and his players but the free-flowing performance and victory over Udinese at the Dacia Arena last night went a long way to lifting the mood after the disappointing end to the club's tour of the USA.
Tuchel picked a strong starting XI against the Serie A side; it may have even the side that will line up at Goodison Park. There was huge experience in the backline with Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Koulibaly deployed. Combined, the trio have played 1,887 official club games.
