Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has his new Mr Reliable as Lionel Messi stat emerges

Malmo 0-1 Chelsea: Thomas Tuchel reaction

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A new ‘Mr Reliable’ has emerged at Chelsea for boss Thomas Tuchel as a new stat around Lionel Messi emerged. Tuchel has led the Blues to top spot in the Premier League, having lost just one game in the 10 matches so far this season.

They have been in similarly good form in the Champions League, currently sitting second in Group H, behind Juventus.

Since being defeated in Italy by the Serie A giants, Tuchel’s side have won both of their games in the competition.

While their opponents in those games have only been Swedish minnows Malmo, the Blues have dominated both clashes.

At the heart of those wins has been Callum Hudson-Odoi, who appears to have finally found a place in Tuchel’s plans.

The young Englishman struggled for playing time in Tuchel’s first few months in charge, but has been a regular in recent weeks.

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He replaced the injured Timo Werner midway through the hammering of Malmo at Stamford Bridge in October.

Three minutes into the second half, he provided the assist for Kai Havertz’s goal, which wrapped up the win for the Blues.

That saw him earn a start against Norwich in Chelsea’s next Premier League game, with Hudson-Odoi scoring his first goal of the season in the hammering of the Canaries.

He again kept his place in the side for last week’s trip to Newcastle, playing 88 minutes as Tuchel’s side ran out comfortable winners.

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His good form in the Champions League continued on Tuesday, when Chelsea travelled to Sweden for the reverse game against Malmo.

And the 20-year-old produced a wonderful assist to create the only goal of the game, which earnt his side a win that takes them to the brink of qualifying for the knock-out stages.

He picked up the ball on the halfway line in midfield, flicking it back to Havertz, before sprinting down the right onto the German’s pass.

He took two touches before sending an inch-perfect pass to Hakim Ziyech, who fired in to win the game.

That assist now means that Hudson-Odoi is creating a goalscoring chance more frequently than PSG star Messi in the Champions League.

His rate of creating such a chance every 24 minutes also puts him ahead of Kevin de Bruyne and Thomas Muller, with Tuchel hailing his new Mr Reliable.

“He is clearly in the right way, you can see in the matches and how effective he is. I feel him very focused,” Tuchel said ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Burnley.

“He waited a long time for these chances and now they’ve arrived. The best reaction from him is to show the consistency we need at the moment for him. He is in a good way.”
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