Thomas Tuchel has praised Edouard Mendy for his performance in Chelsea’s narrow victory over Brentford on Saturday.
Speaking to the media after the game shortly after Chelsea’s hard-fought win over newly-promoted Brentford on Saturday, Thomas Tuchel has hailed Edouard Mendy for his colossal performance in the game.
Mendy was one of the team’s top performers, as he made multiple saves to keep his side in the contest and preserve the slender lead. Tuchel has also heaped praise on goalscorer Ben Chilwell but believes Mendy’s impact was vital, especially with Brentford bombarding the Chelsea defence late in the game.
The game also saw the former Stade Rennais goalkeeper register his 30th clean sheet for Chelsea, taking just 54 competitive matches to do so, just three behind club legend Petr Cech.
Speaking after the game, as quoted by Chelsea’s official website, Tuchel revealed he was left impressed by the performance of the Senegalese international, stating, “He was very strong throughout the whole match. We managed to keep a lot of pressure away from him during the first 60-65 minutes but they were still there.”
The German manager went on to point out the defensive flaws Chelsea had in their game while also praising Brentford for their attacking endeavours. Thomas Frank’s men, after all, registered 17 shots on goal, seven of which had found the target.
“They were always dangerous on set pieces, they put a lot of free-kicks, corners, free-kicks into your box so it’s a constant threat and he was very strong and very concentrated also in our build-up play, a very good performance,” the Chelsea boss said.
“Of course, the last 20 minutes the match turned into a cup game, they took a lot of risks and got a lot of bodies into our box and we could not keep them away from shooting and having the big chances so it was absolutely decisive to escape with the clean sheet,” he added.
Chelsea’s win over Brentford, thanks to Mendy’s colossal performance, helped the team remain on top of the Premier League table, just ahead of in-form Liverpool and defending champions Manchester City, both of whom won their respective games on Saturday.
The reigning European champions will now shift their focus to the Champions League, as they take on Malmo this midweek. It proves to be a must-win contest for the Blues after succumbing to a narrow defeat at the hands of Juventus, prior to the international break.
Yes true. But for Mendy Chelsea could have lost the match. But it must also be noted that Chelsea was not at its full strength. Therefore it is creditable for Chelsea to win this match. Unfortunately Chelsea forwards are not effective.