Tuchel explains decision to drop Chelsea star Chilwell for Alonso

The Blues summer signing has found himself out of favor under Tuchel after previously being a favorite with Lampard.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel revealed choosing between Ben Chilwell and Marcos Alonso was a close call, but the latter’s familiarity with his tactics and fine form has given him the edge so far.

Chilwell, who made 22 appearances under former Blues boss Frank Lampard, has only played two of Tuchel’s first five games, and 138 minutes of football, since the German took charge at Stamford Bridge on January 26.

Tuchel has instead favored Alonso, who hadn’t played a single Premier League game since September. The Spaniard has started three times under the new coach. He also replaced Chilwell in the second half of the club’s 2-1 win over Sheffield United last weekend.

But Tuchel, who has favored a three-man defense at Chelsea, insists he will ‘find possibilities’ for Chilwell.

“Yes, if he is [worried] I can understand,” said the manager in a press conference ahead of Monday’s match against Newcastle as quoted by Goal.

“He has had some difficult decisions against him, where they were tight choices.

“I took the choice for Marcos [Alonso] where we played with a five because he was more familiar with the position. He played there under [former Chelsea manager] Antonio Conte and we opted for Marcos against Burnley for his strengths in the air for headers to defend and attack set-pieces.

“Marcos had a really good match where he scored a decisive goal, and from there it was hard to come back for Tottenham. We didn’t make changes in this position. I spoke to him before the Tottenham match and said you have to trust me now that I see your talent and potential.

“I see also with Chilly a very nice guy, reflective guy, and an intelligent guy. I maybe felt it in the first days that it is possible that he thinks a lot about this situation but hopefully not too much because he can trust himself and us as a staff that he can keep pushing and we will find possibilities to reward him.”