Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Trevoh Chalobah missed out on the squad as a matter of selection and allayed any injury fears around the defender. The Blues youngster did not have the rigours of joining up with an international squad but was deemed surplus to requirements as Tuchel opted to utilise four at the back against Brentford.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger all lined up in the starting XI despite travelling with their national sides, but the German coach still had Andreas Christensen and Malang Sarr to utilise off the bench given the depth of Chelsea's riches.
The 22-year-old might still consider himself unfortunate to miss out given he completed 90 minutes in the Blues' previous three Premier League games against Newcastle, Norwich and Burnley. They were not necessarily faultless performances, but he has proved crucial over the course of the season.
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For Tuchel, it was as simple as he was not preferred on this occasion. "Just selection. We decided to play with a back four and we chose our four central defenders," said the Blues boss.
Chelsea fell to the 4-1 defeat against the Bees, having defeated their west London rivals twice already this season. The first occasion was also following an international break where injuries saw both Chalobah and Sarr start alongside Christensen. That afternoon saw an equally impressive Brentford performance as Chelsea escaped with a 1-0 win.
Tuchel said ahead of that match: "We like that Trevoh Chalobah plays on the right-hand side against Ivan Toney, we think it's a good fit." Ivan Toney did not trouble the scoresheet on this occasion but showed impressive link-up play.
Chalobah had an intense afternoon as the Bees bombarded the Blues goal but showed his mettle on the way to a clean sheet. He then played at the heart of three central defenders in the Carabao Cup to keep another clean sheet.
It's not to say he should have played against Thomas Frank's side on Saturday afternoon, but it remains an interesting decision from Tuchel to opt for a back four over the formation he has tended to favour during his time in the Chelsea hotseat.
In comparison to October, Rudiger was fit and Thiago Silva played less and returned more quickly from his Brazil duties. Malang Sarr has seemed to become an option at left-back, though Reece James replaced Marcos Alonso against Brentford. Given, the favour Tuchel showed for Chalobah earlier in the term, and in the Blues' more regular formation, it just struck as curious to see the former Lorient loanee left out.
