Chelsea left-back, Ben Chilwell has revealed that the London-based side have been doing well so far this season because there are no egos at the club.
He noted that every player at the club works hard for the team and the coach while those who are not playing regularly are always ready to support the team.
Recall that since coach Thomas Tuchel became the coach of Chelsea on January 26, 2021, the club has become a formidable force in all competitions.
When he replaced coach Frank Lampard last season, Tuchel was able to push the once struggling squad from the 9th spot on the league table to the 4th spot before the season ended.
He crowned it up by beating Manchester City in the final of the UEFA Champions League barely four months after becoming the coach of Chelsea.
So far this season, Chelsea have continued with their fine form in all competitions. They are currently topping the Premier League table with 25 points in 10 games, 3 points above second-placed Liverpool.
Also, they are second in Champions League Group H with 6 points in 3 games, three points below first placed Juventus, 3 points above third-placed Zenith.
Ahead of Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League group stage game against bottom-placed Malmo scheduled to kick off at 18:45 later today, November 2, Ben Chilwell told the pre-match press conference that Chelsea’s squad is so big that two or three world-class players are fighting in every position.
The 24-year-old English left-back who struggled to play regularly under coach Tuchel after the 2021 European Championship where he failed to play a minute for England, said it was frustrating for him initially and had to work his way back into Chelsea’s team.
Recall that after the European Championship, coach Tuchel kept Ben Chilwell on the bench and decided to start Marcos Alonso ahead of him for 6 straight Premier League games.
“It is obviously frustrating because as a footballer you want to be playing week in, week out,” Chilwell said.
“When you’ve got a squad like we do here at Chelsea, with 20, 25 world-class players and two or three fighting in every position, you’ve got to understand you’re not going to play every match and just to support the group.
“(There were) no doubts at all (during that period). As a footballer, you have to have confidence in your ability.
“I was just keen that I would train hard every day so that when I did get my opportunity I’d give my manager a headache and that’s all I could do really.
“When you come off the back of a Euros in your home country, of course, everyone’s going to be disappointed when they don’t play in that.
“But coming back to Chelsea, I felt I was in a good place to help the team but of course Marcos started the season very well, was here for the whole of pre-season, and had a great start to the season. I knew I had to be patient and bide my time.
“And I think that’s a sign of the fact we’ve got such a strong group that’s doing well at the moment because there are no egos in this squad; there is a group of players that want to work hard for the manager, work hard for the club and each other and whoever gets their opportunity they’re ready.”
🗣"Coming back to Chelsea I felt like I was in a good place to help the team."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 1, 2021
Ben Chilwell has never doubted his ability even though he failed to make an appearance for England in the Euros pic.twitter.com/NIPrj4Uvg1
In recent times, the table has turned in favor of Ben Chilwell. The England international has played 9 games and scored three goals for Chelsea so far this season.
Callum Hudson-Odoi was also like Ben Chilwell
Just like how Ben Chilwell struggled to play regularly for Chelsea at the start of the season, Callum Hudson-Odoi also suffered the same fate.
In the case of Hudson-Odoi, the 20-year-old English right-back started struggling for game time last season. It got so frustrating for him that he asked Chelsea to sell him.
However, Chelsea decided to keep the promising youngster at the club ahead of the 2021-2022 season.
Hudson-Odoi began to enjoy more regular playing time when the club’s forwards Timo Warner and Romelu Lukaku got injured in October. In their absence, he has started three games.
The coach of the club, Tuchel, said: “He [Hudson-Odoi] thought it might be a bit easier to get minutes at another club but I told him straight that we rely on him, he accepted his role within the team.
“There is huge progress he can make within this group and this club but he had a very good pre-season, struggled a bit at the beginning of the season to prove himself but now has shown up and delivered.
“To get a place in this team it is all about performance and this is what Callum is showing at the moment and it is important he continues to be consistent, stays hungry, and keeps progressing.”
🗣 "We know what it takes to have these kind of results and we know what effort we put in."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 1, 2021
Thomas Tuchel says Chelsea have confidence with the standard that has been set by his team pic.twitter.com/orkVA4vXAl
