CROCK SHOCK
THOMAS TUCHEL will be left ruing Chelsea’s injuries on a routine night against Malmo.
But did the Blues boss need to go so strong against the Swedish minnows?
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Of course, there is no way you can blame injuries on one game in particular and Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner getting injured against Malmo is just sheer bad luck.
However, should they have even been on the pitch at all? That is a question worth asking. Chelsea played Malmo, a team who even a second string side would be expected to roll over.
But I'm not claiming Chelsea should have even lined up with a total B-team.
It would have been nice, though, to have seen a few of Chelsea's key players rested for this one in order to keep them fresh for the weekend - especially with Thomas Tuchel even stating a number of his players were struggling with fatigue this week.
This was the perfect chance. It was a great opportunity to give players like Kai Havertz and Callum Hudson-Odoi game time, who inevitably both ended up coming on anyway, because of the bad luck to Lukaku and Werner.
But now Chelsea could face Norwich on Saturday without EITHER of their main strikers, and that is not a good position to be in. If they are out for an extended period it would be disastrous.
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Tuchel must have been a little concerned about this game when deciding to pick virtually a full-strength XI.
He was concerned about not getting all three points, and I wonder if those doubts have crept in after a few poor performances from his team recently? I wonder if he has lost a bit of confidence in this group?
I totally understand the importance of getting all three points after losing to Juventus in the last game.
Getting six points against Malmo in this group is vitally important. But surely Chelsea could still have done this without Lukaku? Without Werner? I have no doubts they could have.
Hudson-Odoi proved he has what it takes to step up in their absence with an emphatic run from deep to setup Kai Havertz, who also proved he can step up and be the finisher - like he was at the end of last season - with his goal.
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Werner had a hamstring injury, that can be related to overplaying, and Tuchel himself had even admitted his players were overplayed after all the international matches and travelling.
I feel he could regret the decision now to not rest a few key players. But they got the result and they got the win that they needed, and football is about getting results, and we can have no regrets about that.
A 4-0 thrashing in the Champions League, though, is certainly a huge positive.
Tuchel says Lukaku was tired during Brentford game as he defends his striker after six games without a goal