Following his side’s Club World Cup win, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel revealed the conversation he had with billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea became the latest World Champions on Saturday night after defeating Palmeiras 2-1 in extra time at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the venue for the Club World Cup final.
Tuchel’s side were the better team on the night but could not create enough goal scoring chances which led the game to end in a 1-1 draw after regular time.
Romelu Lukaku had put the Blues ahead but they were pegged back by a penalty which was converted by Raphael Veiga, forcing the tie into extra time.
Kai Havertz grabbed the match winner for Chelsea with three minutes of extra time left in the match as he converted a penalty awarded by VAR for a handball in the box.
Reacting to the win, Tuchel talked about Havertz penalty, lauding the player for his composure.
“It was not easy to shoot that penalty. I’m happy that Kai stepped up and took it the way he took it. This can only be good for his development.
“Palmeiras were a typical South American team, very good individually. They had solidarity and discipline and sacrifice against the ball. They can defend, they can suffer and with everything together.
“We knew it can be difficult to create chances and half-chances and we had to be patient and relentless at the same time.
“Sometimes in a final it’s a bit stuck in the beginning, you look for solutions but you don’t want to open up to too many spaces for counter-attacks on which they heavily rely. And where they are very, very good.
“So in the first half we struggled a little bit with the fluidity of our match.
“We changed the structure in the second half, and found the spaces better and scored a wonderful goal and had two or three good chances or half-chances after that.
“Then in a moment where we were in total control and were the better team and seemed to find spaces better and better and to implement a higher rhythm, we gave a penalty away from a throw-on which is very unusual.”
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Tuchel acknowledged that they had to dig deep and continue to be relentless after the equaliser which required discipline from the players.
“But I have to say we never stopped attacking, never stopped trying and for extra time we changed the structure again and had a different structure to attack and to defend counter-attacks.
“Of course if you have a late penalty you’re also lucky but I think we deserved it because we did not allow a lot of chances and we never stopped trying and never stopped being active and doing the most for the game.”
Tuchel also revealed the chat he had with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich after winning the Club World Cup for the first time for the club.
“I said congratulations, he [Abramovich] said congratulations, and I said it’s for you. It’s your club and it’s your input and your passion that made this possible and we’re happy to be part of it.”
The Club World Cup trophy was the 20th trophy Chelsea have won since Abramovic took over at the club in 2003.
They also join an elite few clubs who have won every trophy available to them in club football.
Chelsea went into the final of the Club World Cup hoping to secure the title for the first time and they did everything to secure it.
They first lost out in the final of the 2012 Club World Cup after suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat in the hands of Brazilian side Corinthians.
Some Chelsea players were the recipients of some individual awards given to outstanding players in the tournament.
Defenders Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta were awarded the Best Player and Fair play award respectively.
Palmeiras duo, Dudu and Danilo didn’t miss out as they walked away with second and third best players of the tournament respectively.
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