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Chelsea FC boss Thomas Tuchel targeting clean sweep of trophies - ‘it’s in this club’s DNA to be winners’

 (Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
(Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Thomas Tuchel is targeting a clean sweep with ‘natural born winners’ Chelsea.

The Premier League leaders booked their place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup last night after defeating Aston Villa on penalties following a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes.

While the competition is low down Chelsea’s list of priorities this season, Tuchel demonstrated his own obsession with winning when sending on club-record signing Romelu Lukaku to try to come up with a late goal.

In the end, Reece James’s spot kick secured 4-3 shootout win, with Tuchel making it clear he wants to go all the way, no matter the impact on a hectic schedule that already includes the Club World Cup at the end of the year and the defence of their Champions League trophy.

“This is why we are here,” said the German (above). “We are here to win and the club is built to win and this is the DNA of the club.

“We want to be competitive and this is what we are up for as coaches and as a team. So any competition we start, we go for the very best and this is a final at Wembley that we want to reach.”

Tuchel underlined the strength of his squad by making 10 changes to the team that beat Tottenham 3-0 at the weekend. It still included £45million Timo Werner, £50m Ben Chilwell and £71m Kepa Arrizabalaga.

But Tuchel ensured he had enough power on the bench if Villa looked capable of causing an upset. Mason Mount came on at half-time, while Lukaku, Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz were also named on the bench.

“Thiago and Romelu we had for both cases,” said Tuchel. “We said to Thiago, ‘Maybe we need you for the last 15 if it was necessary to defend and have someone with experience.’

“With Romelu we said, ‘If we need you 10-15 minutes from the end. If we need a goal…’ And this is why they were with us.”

Werner fired Chelsea in front after 54 minutes but Cameron Archer equalised 10 minutes later and Villa threatened to find a winner as Kepa was forced into a series of saves.

Werner’s goal was his first in 11 appearances for Chelsea, dating back to the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid in May. He rose to head James’s cross past Jed Steer and later revealed the difficulties he has endured during his barren spell.

“I am glad I am back on the pitch,” he said. “In the last weeks it was not easy. Every goal, every assist brings you back on track so it was good.”

Tuchel has now challenged Werner to build on that goal. “We brought him into a situation where he can score,” he said. “This is what we want, then it’s on him to score. That’s why he is here. It’s the best feeling for a striker to score.”

Tuchel’s desperation to win last night was perfectly demonstrated by a fit of rage late on when James was penalised for a foul.

The Chelsea manager leapt out of his seat and slammed his cap on the turf in fury. “We had 10 changes from the Tottenham match so you cannot expect from the start that everything falls in place,” he said. “But with every minute it got more fluid, got more intense. This is what we wanted.”

Now Chelsea can look forward to Southampton at home in the next round. Tuchel said: “We have to go step by step. The first round was a tough one and we have the next round here at Stamford Bridge — again a Premier League fixture and we have another tough round.”

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