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Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has praised the tactical set-up employed by his former club under Thomas Tuchel. Zola believes Tuchel has also benefited from having a squad that boasts incredible depth.
The Blues made six changes to their team ahead of their match against Watford last night. Timo Werner, Jorginho, Thiago Silva, Reece James, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi were benched for the match at Vicarage Road.
Chelsea replaced them with Kai Havertz, Saul Niguez, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic. The swathe of changes did seem to affect Tuchel's side a bit as they were not at their best against Watford. However, they returned home with all three points from Vicarage Road.
Gianfranco Zola feels the depth and quality within the squad allows Tuchel to make multiple changes but still come away with good results. Speaking to Amazon Prime Video (via Football London) ahead of the game, Zola said:
"When you have the quality of the players like they have, then you can afford to make those changes. He’s (Tuchel) got the team very well balanced all of the time, even if he makes changes, they’re always reasonable changes."
The Italian, who played 229 times for Chelsea between 1996 and 2003, added:
"The team never loses their shape, their balance, you need to congratulate the manager for how it works like that."
Goals from Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech gave Tuchel's side a 2-1 win over Watford, who scored through Emmanuel Dennis.
Chelsea face a tricky run of fixtures next
Victory over the Hornets ensured Chelsea stayed atop the Premier League table. They now have 33 points from 14 matches and are one clear of Manchester City in second and two clear of Liverpool in third. Both the Cityzens and the Reds also picked up victories on Matchday 14.
While getting three points was vital, the Blues will be concerned about their performance in the game. Tuchel's side looked vulnerable at times and allowed Watford to take 14 shots on goal, including six on target.
Chelsea will hope the display at Vicarage Road is a one-off as they enter a testing run of fixtures. They will travel to West Ham over the weekend before returning to UEFA Champions League action next week against Zenit St. Petersburg.
Following that clash, Chelsea will face Leeds United, Everton and Wolves in the Premier League and Brentford in the EFL Cup. It will be a tricky run but the Blues will hope to get through unscathed.
