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Tuchel praises 3 Chelsea youngsters for FA Cup win

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The Blues boss has singled out the impact of three academy youngsters after the FA Cup win over Barnsley.

Thomas Tuchel has praised Billy Gilmour, Reece James, and Tammy Abraham for their impacts in Chelsea’s 1-0 FA Cup win over Barnsley on Thursday.

Despite a low-key opening half, Gilmour raised his game in a deeper midfield role after the break and left an overall positive impression in his first appearance under Tuchel.

The 19-year-old even provided the pass that led to full-back James to cross the ball in for Abraham’s match-winner in the 64th-minute.

“Clearly he [Abraham] made the difference,” said Tuchel in his post-match conference at Oakwell.

“But with the strike you cannot leave out the pass from Billy Gilmour, you cannot leave out the run from Reece James, so it was a very nice goal where he was at the end of a very good combination.”

Abraham has scored four goals in his last two FA Cup games, including a hat-trick against Luton Town in the fourth-round.

On the striker, Tuchel added: “He scores decisive goals in cup games and that is good for him because for the strikers it is most important to score. And of course the stop on the line was crucial at that moment.”

The Chelsea trio will hope to combine again for Monday night’s Premier League match against Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.

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