Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel revels in win over Brentford and is relishing Tottenham semi-final
Thomas Tuchel revels in ‘brilliant’ Chelsea win over Brentford and is relishing another London derby after his side were paired with Tottenham in Carabao Cup semi-finals
- Chelsea overcame a west London derby with an own goal and a Jorginho penalty
- They were immediately paired with Tottenham in the last four of the competition
- ‘It’s a London derby and were looking forward to it,’ said the German coach
- Tuchel also praised Kepa Arrizabalaga for his performance in goal
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Thomas Tuchel is relishing the prospect of another London derby after Chelsea battled past Brentford to land a Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham.
The Blues navigated a tricky all-west London encounter after an own goal and a Jorginho penalty fired them to a 2-0 win at the Brentford Community Stadium.
They were immediately paired with Spurs and boss Tuchel said: ‘It was clear it was always going to be a strong draw, with four tough teams, but Tottenham is nice for our fans. It’s a London derby and were looking forward to it.’
Thomas Tuchel is looking forward to another London derby after Chelsea were paired with Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-finals
Jorginho scored Chelsea’s second goal from the penalty spot to settle a tricky encounter
With his squad still ravaged by Covid-19, Tuchel handed debuts to academy prospects Harvey Vale, Jude Soonsup-Bell and Xavier Simons for their last-eight meeting with their neighbours.
But it was substitutes N’Golo Kante, Reece James, Mason Mount, Jorginho and Christian Pulisic who turned the tie in Chelsea’s favour.
Brentford defender Pontus Jansson bundled a cross from James into his own net 10 minutes from time and a few moments later Pulisic was clumsily tripped by Brentford keeper Alvaro Fernandez, with Jorginho firing the Blues through from the spot.
‘We had a brilliant performance and a brilliant result, given the circumstances,’ added Tuchel.
‘We were very disciplined, very structured and had individual quality. Well done to the boys. I’m super happy.
‘The three boys did well. They did not train for a week because the academy was closed, then we invited them to train with us for two days.
‘They listened carefully and did their job. And the seven guys that played with them supported them. They did well and were involved in a good performance.’
Tuchel was impressed with his side for overcoming so many absences due to Covid to win
Brentford coach Thomas Frank said ‘two minor differences were the difference today’
Tuchel also praised goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was given a rare outing ahead of first-choice Edouard Mendy.
‘He’s in that state of mind as a person, a character and a sportsman where he just delivers,’ added the German.
‘This is what he shows every day in training and that’s why he gets the rewards and has these kind of performances.’
Defeat meant Brentford missed out on a second successive semi-final in the competition, against the side that beat them last season.
Boss Thomas Frank said: ‘According to the game plan we gave nothing away and they couldn’t find a solution, and we had by far the best chances in the first half. So first half, tick! We should have been in front.
‘But in the second half we struggled to create anything. We defended well and gave nothing away until the 80th minute, when we needed to do better.
‘Pontus will blame himself but he’s had a fantastic season. Two minor mistakes gave them their goals and that was the difference today.’
