Mason Mount needed just 8 minutes to prove his worth to Thomas Tuchel
When Thomas Tuchel named his first Chelsea lineup for Wednesday’s meeting with Wolves, the most eye-catching decision was the benching of Mason Mount.
This was former boss Frank Lampard’s golden child. The prodigal son. Nobody at Chelsea played as much under Lampard than Mount, who blossomed into one of the club’s finest current players under the tutelage of one of the club’s finest ever players.
He was left out in favour of the midfield duo of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, with Tuchel clearly opting for experience over youth after working with his new side for less than 24 hours by the time he had to name the team.
Mount only came on for the final eight minutes, but in that short time, he showed Tuchel exactly why Lampard made him undroppable.
The Englishman provided Chelsea’s midfield with some much-needed oomph during his eight minutes on the field, driving forward and asking questions of the Wolves defence for the first time all night.
Jorginho and Kovacic may have helped shatter passing records – Chelsea’s 820 passes on the night was more than any other side has managed this season – but they didn’t really do much. It was dominant in terms of possession, but that’s about it.
Per FBRef, Jorginho and Kovacic created a combined five shots in 90 minutes (three for Jorginho, two for Kovacic), whereas Mount’s impact led to two in just eight minutes. Do the maths.
With Mount, Chelsea suddenly had a cutting edge. Alongside fellow substitute Christian Pulisic, Mount looked like he wanted to go and win the game for the Blues, with his famed pressing again proving vital to Chelsea.
It was also Mount’s corner which created the last-second chance from which Kai Havertz thought he had headed a winner, proving his worth from set pieces as well.
Without him on the pitch, the job of linking midfield and attack was left to Hakim Ziyech, who had to drift back to collect the ball from Jorginho and Kovacic, neither of whom looked prepared to take a risk and try to get the ball to the Moroccan in a more advanced position.
It all left Chelsea feeling a bit stale. Without that drive, teams won’t have a problem sitting deep against Tuchel’s side, safe in the knowledge that it’ll probably earn them a point, and the boss will know that.
Tuchel will want players like Mount in his side. He values energy, work rate, selflessness and, above all, relentless pressing. That’s Mount to a tee.
Reading too much into the boss‘ first team sheet is something we should avoid. After all, his first training session with the team was 6pm on Tuesday, and the team was announced at 5pm on Wednesday. That’s nowhere near enough time to figure out your best side, and Tuchel admitted as much.
“Today the choices were totally unfair because how can I make choices after one session where everyone was really focused and really open to all things,“ he said (via Metro).
“It’s the most unfair line-up we ever do because there is no reason to give to players who aren’t in the line-up. We chose a bit more experience today and in a moment that is not easy in the middle of the season. The place we are is not where we should be, the tension is high so we went for a bit of experience.”
Tuchel will now be in his element as he spends the next few days analysing both the Wolves game and the next training sessions. It’s his job to figure out who the major cogs of his system will be, and he will undoubtedly be more confident leaning on Mount already.
A point to start.#CHEWOL pic.twitter.com/wlDSWdcpcO
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 27, 2021
His next test will come on Sunday against Burnley, another side who will happily sit deep and defend for 90 minutes. Tuchel will need energy. He’ll need Mount.