Thomas Tuchel admits Chelsea played with 'fear' & were 'lucky' to beat Leeds
By Sean Walsh
Thomas Tuchel has said that while he is 'very happy' with how Chelsea played in their late 3-2 win against Leeds, the Blues needed a bit of luck in order to seal the three points.
Chelsea fell behind to a Raphinha penalty in the first half before a Mason Mount strike and Jorginho spot kick turned the game around. But the Blues seemed to be heading for a draw after a late Joe Gelhardt equaliser, before Jorginho secured the win with another penalty in stoppage time.
Tuchel revealed that he was sure Chelsea would get one final chance to take the three points, though admitted it was a bumpy ride on their way to victory.
"I was confident that we maybe get one more chance and turn things around because we played very strongly in the first half and we showed again a good reaction after the equaliser," the German said in his post-match press conference.
"In between, we played maybe a little bit with the fear that we had something to lose, and we absolutely didn't want to lose what we worked so hard for. So yeah, there is always a bit of luck, of course, when you get such a late goal. But we've conceded two of them so maybe it was our turn.
"We needed this win desperately for the mood, the belief, for the atmosphere. I am very happy how we got it, I'm very happy how we played, and we have two days off now and it's a good feeling for the boys."
Tuchel reserved special praise for Jorginho, who insisted on playing through the pain barrier on Saturday and scored a brace from the spot.
"He is super important. Jorgi has sacrificed himself for many weeks, actually. I was aware this moment would come where he would suffer because he played Champions League campaign with us, the Euros with Italy, and all their World Cup qualifiers. So there has not only been a physical effort for him it's been mentally very demanding," the Chelsea boss added.
"He had no pre-season, started the Super Cup game straight away. So I knew there would be a point in the season he feels his body and wouldn't be fully fit. But Jorgi is Jorgi and he is fully aware of the situation that we miss Kova [Mateo Kovacic] and N'Golo [Kante].
"He sacrificed and gives his best every single day. He spends hours and hours with the physios and medical department to get himself in the best shape possible. It's very nice to have this kind of attitude. It was a big reward for him today as it is not easy to score two penalties in one game."