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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel details Roman Abramovich conversation after Club World Cup win

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel paid tribute to owner Roman Abramovich following his team's victory in the Club World Cup final on Saturday.

The Blues lifted the prestigious trophy for the first time after beating Brazilian outfit Palmeiras 2-1 thanks to goals from Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz.

Abramovich attended the final - held at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE - and was seen talking to Tuchel at full-time.

The Russian billionaire rarely attends games nowadays, yet Tuchel still paid tribute to his him when asked what he said to his boss.

"I said congratulations, he said congratulations," the German told Chelsea's website.

How do you assess Roman Abramovich's ownership of Chelsea? Let us know in the comments below!

Roman Abramovich attended Chelsea's victory against Palmeiras on Saturday (UEFA via Getty Images)

"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.'"

Chelsea have now won every major trophy available since Abramovich purchased the club in July 2003.

Since then, they've added five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, two Champions League titles, two Europa League titles, the Super Cup and now the Club World Cup to their impressive trophy cabinet.

When purchasing Chelsea, Abramovich said: "We are delighted to agree this deal to acquire what is already one of the top clubs in Europe.

"We have the resources and ambition to achieve even more given the huge potential of this great club."

Since his takeover, Abramovich has appointed 14 managers (minimum 20 games): Jose Mourinho (twice), Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink (twice), Carlo Ancelotti, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo, Rafa Benitez, Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard and Tuchel.

The latter is certainly one of his more successful appointments, winning three trophies - including the Champions League - within 13 months of his appointment.

Analysing the final, Tuchel added: "Palmeiras were a typical South American team, very good individually. They had solidarity and discipline and sacrifice against the ball.

Chelsea were crowned world champions for the first time after beating Palmeiras (Getty Images)

"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.

"In this moment we gave a penalty away from a throw-on which is very unusual."

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