Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Tuchel sends exciting rallying cry after ‘deserved but also lucky’ Chelsea Club World Cup success

Thomas Tuchel says it is a “dream” come true to win the Club World Cup with Chelsea and sent an exciting reminder that “it never stops” when it comes to chasing more trophies.

Chelsea defeated South American champions Palmeiras in extra time of the final after a Kai Havertz penalty secured a 2-1 scoreline. It made up for them missing out on the trophy 10 years earlier; indeed, they have now won every piece of silverware available to them during the Roman Abramovich era.

Getting there was an arduous task, but their work paid off when Havertz’s penalty went in and they saw out the remaining minutes.

It means there is another medal around the neck of Tuchel, who led the club to the Champions League title last season to qualify them for this competition in the first place, and then the UEFA Super Cup. His impact since taking over in January 2021 has been huge.

Still, he admitted they needed some “luck” to beat Palmeiras – but thinks they made their own.

Tuchel told Channel 4 (transcribed by the BBC): “In the end if you score late you need luck to do it but we were relentless and we did not stop trying.

“We did not give in. We had the lead then lost it but never stopped. It was deserved but also lucky when you score late.”

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In the absence of main penalty taker Jorginho, the onus was on Havertz to win it for Chelsea when they were awarded a spot kick late in extra time.

The goalscorer that won them the Champions League made no mistake to win them the Club World Cup too. Tuchel was happy he could rely on him, even through nerves.

He said: “The penalty does not look nervous but for sure he was. You cannot not be nervous in this situation.

“We trusted the statistics and I’m happy for him.”

Tuchel: Still things to win

Tuchel is becoming a part of Chelsea’s history, within a successful era for the club over the past two decades.

He knew the chance to complete their collection with the Club World Cup was an important one – and now the task is complete, he is targeting more.

He concluded: “I’m a part of it and I’m happy to have the chance. We said before in the dressing room, ‘what an opportunity’.

“We all dream to have finals like this. There is no regrets. There are still things to win and it never stops.”

Chelsea’s next final is later this month, when they face Liverpool for the Carabao Cup. They have fixtures in the Premier League and Champions League to contend with first, and the FA Cup after.

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