Premier League: Tuchel Singles Out 2 'Reliable' Chelsea Stars For Praise After 2-0 Win

Thomas Tuchel singled out two "reliable" stars – Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech – after Chelsea's 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday.

Soon after the second half went underway at Stamford Bridge, Ziyech opened the scoring for Chelsea before center-back Thiago Silva doubled the home side's lead at the 55th minute.

Ziyech, who joined Chelsea in 2020 from Ajax, finally scored his first league goal at home Sunday. In the 2021-22 season, the midfielder has been having a fine run, having scored six goals and four assists in 24 matches, across all competitions for the Blues.

"It was one of his best matches because he was very reliable and to be fair it's maybe also his best position to have the wide position on the right wing. That position does normally not exist when we play our 3-4-3 when we have our wing-backs," Tuchel was quoted by Chelsea media as saying after the match Sunday.

"He was good because it gave him the opportunity to take risks where it's possible to take risks and he was very reliable on the ball in moments where it was necessary. You can always rely on him in terms of counter-pressing and work-rate for the team so it was well done," added Tuchel.

Tuchel also praised Lukaku, who featured in Chelsea's starting XI for the 11th time this season in the Premier League. Even though the Belgian star was not involved in any of the goals, the German boss credited him for a "very good team performance."

"It was a very good team performance from him. He was absolutely reliable and put in a huge effort. It's a bit the story of our team. I have the feeling that we work really hard off the ball and sometimes are maybe not in full confidence or a calm state of mind when it comes to the opponents' box. But the effort is something we define as a benchmark and a standard for us, so he gave everything in terms of work-rate," Tuchel said further in the interview.

Overall, the Chelsea boss was happy with his side's performance, especially since the team had not won in their previous four league outings.

"It was a tough match but I’m very happy because the effort was outstanding and it was a deserved win. It is so hard to create chances against them but we were relentless and kept on believing, so it was a good team effort and an excellent result," said Tuchel.

Chelsea now have 47 points from 24 games in the 2021-22 Premier League. The Blues are placed in the third spot in the table and they trail leaders Manchester City by 10 points and second-placed Liverpool by a point.