Chelsea are the reigning Champions League winners, but it didn’t look like it when they played Zenit tonight.
Thomas Tuchel’s team were slow and sludgy, and only won thanks to a brilliant moment between Cesar Azpilicueta and Romelu Lukaku.
Tuchel was under no illusions about how the game had gone:
“It was a deserved win but it was hard, hard work” the German explained in the flash interview afterwards. He had a smile on his face however, and clearly knows that the 3 points are the most important thing.
You can see the Chelsea coach speaking to BT Sport in the clip embedded here:
"It was a deserved win but it was hard, hard work."
"It took a while to make them tired with our intensity."
"Romelu Lukaku was again decisive for us."
Thomas Tuchel reflects on a hard-fought #UCL matchday one win over Zenit 👊
🎙 @lynseyhipgrave1 pic.twitter.com/m9lX7Qv1RS
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 14, 2021