Chelsea left wing-back Ben Chilwell has revealed the conversation he had with boss Thomas Tuchel before their Premier League win against Everton.
The Blues were 1-0 winners at Goodison Park on Saturday evening, with Jorginho’s penalty being the only goal of the game in a hard fought affair between both sides.
Chilwell won the penalty late on in the first half after he was fouled inside the area by Abdoulaye Doucoure, with his teammate soon converting from the spot.
It was the England international’s first start for the club since November, with the 25-year-old only just recovering from a long-term injury.
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He was substituted off in the second half of the match for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but the minutes against the Toffees will be crucial for him to get back to full fitness.
Chilwell spoke to Sky Sports after the game and revealed the conversation he had with Tuchel before the game against Everton.
"I had a conversation with the manager yesterday,” said the defender.
“He said am I ready? I said of course. I didn't know if I actually was!"
Towards the end of 2021, Chilwell started in Chelsea’s Champions League clash against Juventus, with the Blues eventually winning 4-0 in one of the performances of the season.
However midway through the second half, he went down with an injury to his knee and was brought off the pitch, and it was soon revealed that he had damaged his anterior cruciate ligament.
There was hope and belief that he would make a quick recovery but during the festive period, he suffered another setback and remained on the sidelines for the rest of the season.
On the final day of the campaign he returned to the side in their 2-1 win against Watford, coming off the bench as a substitute late on to play his first minutes in a royal blue shirt for many months.
Upon his performance against Everton, and throughout pre-season, it is clear to see that Chilwell is not yet 100% fit, hence why he only played 65 minutes on Saturday.
One of their standout players of the afternoon was Thiago Silva, who did so well to prevent Everton from scoring on a couple of occasions.
After the match, Tuchel said: “All three of our players in the back three are in their thirties and we struggled a bit in general at the end of the game.
“We need to improve our physical level and we are on it.
“Thiago is a key player in the middle of the defence right now, but we need to move more on the ball, to invest more with runs.”
Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Conor Gallagher all made their Chelsea debuts at Goodison Park, which were more positives to take away from the win.
Topics: Ben Chilwell, Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea, Everton, Premier League
Robert Calcutt