Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell has revealed how he refused to let his Euro 2020 heartache break him.
The defender endured a miserable summer – failing to play a single minute of England’s run to the final – and the hangover ran into this season when he was left out of Chelsea’s opening six games of the campaign.
Thomas Tuchel claimed he was suffering the mental strain of the disappointment of the Euros but Chilwell has responded in stunning fashion, scoring four goals for club and country and establishing himself as Chelsea’s first-choice left-back once again.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League clash with Malmo, Chilwell said: “As a football player you have to have confidence in your own ability. I was just keen that I would train hard every day so that when I did get my opportunity, I would give the manager a headache.
“Coming off the back of a summer when you have been disappointed, where you wanted to play. It’s the Euros in your home country so of course everyone is going to be disappointed when they don’t play in that. Coming back to Chelsea I felt I was in a good place to help the team.
“When you have two or three brilliant players in each position, fighting for 11 shirts, you have to be realistic. I knew I had to be patient and bide my time.”
Mount is still to recover from the illness that ruled him out of the weekend win against Newcastle, but the England midfielder has tested negative for Covid-19.
Christian Pulisic could play for the first time since the opening game of the season after recovering from an ankle injury.
Chelsea can take a big step towards qualification from Group H with a second win against Malmo and Tuchel has praised his Premier League leaders for their unbeaten run since the defeat to Juventus last month.
In the six games since then, they have won five and beaten Southampton on penalties in the Carabao Cup.
Tuchel said: “We’ve had it often; it’s the fifth or sixth game in a row where we are considered favourites.
“I like a lot how my team approaches these matches because we put in effort and intensity. We do not focus too much on the general view that we are the favourites. We’ve proved our point on the pitch and it is necessary.”
