When Thomas Tuchel suggested that Trevoh Chalobah was coming into the team as a direct replacement for the suspended Kalidou Koulibaly, it seemed the German coach was set to stick with his favoured three central defenders and utlise Ruben Loftus-Cheek at wing-back once again.
When Paul Tierney blew the whistle to get the match underway, it quickly became apparent that was not the case. Chalobah was on the right of Thiago Silva and the defensive pair only had Reece James and Marc Cucurella for company. Loftus-Cheek was further upfield ahead of Conor Gallagher and Jorginho, with Chelsea appearing quite forward-minded in their approach in a 4-2-2-2.
The system was shortlived as Gallagher was sent off after 28 minutes, and Tuchel had reverted to a back three by the time the halfway interval was over. While Chelsea needed to improve following their defeat to Leeds at Elland Road, the change in system was to benefit Raheem Sterling, though his two goals did not come until the second period.
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“It was needed," said Tuchel, "We need him to score, it’s what he does and he will score. I could feel he wasn’t happy, he wants to score more and have more chances. So we played in a more aggressive shape in the first half for 25 minutes and then we are a man down, so we needed him to step up.
"He did and he did what he always does. He will score, I’m convinced, and he will create chances. The goals were crucial today because they gave us belief and the boost that it was possible. They were responsible for the win."
Sterling's first goal came from a strike from distance that took a deflection on it's way past Foxes goalkeeper Danny Ward, but his second was every bit why the Blues signed the former Manchester City star for £47.5 million. Sterling was in the perfect position to slot in James' pinpoint cross. It was the impact the winger needed to have, after a difficult first half, even with the adjustments Tuchel made.
The 27-year-old's goal were crucial in Chelsea earning three points on the afternoon where the German coach was only able to watch from the stands. Tuchel was happy to see his side show some resilience.
He said: "“I’m happy we hung in and showed the mentality that was needed to have at least the chance to get away with a win. To keep the clean sheet as long as possible, or throughout the match, was the target for the second half. We conceded a goal – totally not needed – and therefore we were under a lot of pressure in the last minutes and conceded two chances.
“We were lucky in the end not to concede the equaliser but we did everything to have the chance and the mentality was very good.”
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