Thomas Tuchel credits Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell for Chelsea game winning performances vs West Ham

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has heaped praise on Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell for their performances from the bench against West Ham.

The Blues struggled, lining up in a 3-5-2 formation with an overload of midfield.

Havertz and Chilwell were both named on the bench, with Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling playing as false nine's, while Marc Cucurella was named at wing-back for the fourth fixture in a row.

However, with Havertz and Chilwell on the bench, Chelsea went a goal behind despite dominating possession.

Michail Antonio netted after a corner, leading Tuchel into making several changes to try and mount a comeback.

The changes saw Chelsea pull off a wonderful comeback, with both Havertz and Chilwell netting to give the Blues the three points in an underwhelming performance.

Thiago Silva's long pass picked out Chilwell, who flicked a header on before chasing his flick to put past the West Ham goalkeeper and equalise.

The wing-back was at it againin the 88th minute, pulling back to Havertz to convert with just minutes to go and give Chelsea the victory.

Speaking to Chelsea FC after the match, Tuchel heaped praise on the pair for their performances from the bench.

He said: "The guys that come can always make the difference.

"Was like this today, full credit to them. We need this otherwise we can not be successful.

"I'm so happy that we had this today, this possibility with a strong bench.

"From now I hope we have everyone available. We talked about it many times the hard decisions."

Tuchel was a big advocate for the five substitutes rule to be introduced in the Premier League, allowing him to hand additional minutes to players in his squad.

The German has utilised these well, turning Saturday's match on it's head with the introduction of his players.

The Blues will now travel to Croatia to face Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday before returning to Premier League action against Fulham.

Havertz is likely to return to the starting line-up, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang only just arriving from Barcelona, while Chilwell could also be handed further minutes.