‘He played penetrative passes’ – Has Tuchel found a long-term replacement for Thiago Silva?

Ethan Ampadu
Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Chelsea started the pre-season tour of the US with a 2-1 victory over Club America.

Thomas Tuchel fielded two different teams for both halves, and the selected players played 45 minutes each as 22 players featured, out of the 29-man squad that made the trip to the US.

The first-half ended goalless, but Timo Werner who came on at half-time scored just five minutes after the restart.

Unfortunately, Reece James who came on for Malang Sarr, scored an own goal 5 minutes after Chelsea took the lead.

Mason Mount would then score an 83rd minute goal to seal a 2-1 win for Chelsea.

Speaking after the game, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admitted his displeasure that he couldn’t field some of his young players.

He said: “I was a bit sad today because some youngsters had to be outside due to injury or simply the fact we had too many players for two teams.

“Some other players deserved to play, like for example Harvey Vale who had a fantastic tournament for England Under-19s and did very well in training.”

One player that impressed during the game was Ethan Ampadu.

Ampadu came on for the experienced Thiago Silva at half-time, and the 21-year-old performed really well in the middle of the back three.

Ampadu, who played on loan last season for Italian side Venezia, put in a good performance in the middle of the back three for Chelsea, and Tuchel was very impressed.

He said: “Ethan did very well in a good position for him in the middle of a back three.

“He plays a lot of vertical passes, he did not play from left to right but only penetrated through the lines of the opponent with his passes and sometimes with his dribbling.

“He was very active and it was good match from him. He also is training very well.”

It was good to see Ampadu play very well, and we hope he can be a long-term replacement for Thiago Silva.

1 Comment on "‘He played penetrative passes’ – Has Tuchel found a long-term replacement for Thiago Silva?"

  1. Keep fire burning blues forever

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