Tuchel Praises Chelsea Forward Who Was 'Forced' To Play 90 Minutes In 3-1 Win

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel heaped praise on English forward Callum Hudson-Odoi, who was "forced" to play full 90 minutes in his side's 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.

Hudon-Odoi, along with Romelu Lukaku, Ben Chilwell and Timo Werner, tested positive for COVID-19 before the 1-1 draw with Everton earlier this month and missed three games across all competitions, including last week's 2-0 victory over Brentford in the League Cup quarters.

Hudon-Odoi had a part to play in two out of Chelsea's three goals Sunday. The 21-year-old forward won the first penalty and then crossed for Lukaku's goal that sealed the game for the Blues. Quite a few injuries in the Chelsea camp meant Hudon-Odoi had to play the entire 90 minutes, which was not Tuchel's original plan, considering the England national had just recovered from COVID-19.

"I think he [Hudon-Odoi] was brilliant today and we forced him. Normally it was clear that he plays one half to a maximum of 60 minutes. This was already more than any recommendation from the fitness department but he was strong in training so I wanted to have him on the pitch," Tuchel said in a post-match interview Sunday, according to Chelsea's official website.

Jorginho scored from the spot twice before Lukaku netted Chelsea's third goal in the 56th minute.

"Hakim Ziyech had only one training session, Callum had at least two and a half, so we decided to put him in and he was involved. He overcame some obstacles today and some adversity. That was a big game, a very important game from him. We took a kind of a risk here because he just came back from Covid," added Tuchel, who would have been relieved seeing Chelsea returning to winning ways.

In their previous four league games, Chelsea had managed to bag just one victory, which was a 3-2 win over Leeds United at home. Due to their recent struggles, Chelsea have fallen behind in the title race. The Blues are placed third in the 2021-22 Premier League table with 41 points from 19 games, six behind leaders Manchester City.

Chelsea's upcoming assignment is a home league fixture against Brighton on Wednesday.