Mount bounces back to run the show for Tuchel

➤ Playmaker returns after injury with dominant display to offer instant reminder of creativity his team have missed

Thomas Tuchel’s decision to take Mason Mount off at halftime against Tottenham raised a few eyebrows. The view of some observers, and indeed some opposition staff, was that Mount was not Chelsea’s worst performer that afternoon.

Perhaps he was guilty of not moving the ball forward quickly enough to utilise the power of Romelu Lukaku in the best areas, yet there was still time to pick apart Spurs’ defence. In the end, three goals in the second half vindicated the move.

After one month out of the starting line-up, Mount was picked against Malmo last night in a match where Chelsea were in control after Andreas Christensen knocked in an early goal.

Mount’s absence has also been been due to a knock, ruling him out of key matches against Manchester City and Juventus, which both ended in defeat. How Tuchel needed his creativity in Turin when chances were at a premium.

His link-up play with Lukaku will be a key factor to Chelsea’s season and in their brief time on the pitch it looked promising against Jon Dahl Tomasson’s team.

Mount sent Lukaku away within five minutes down the right flank to put him in a position where he scored plenty of goals for Inter Milan in the past two seasons. That chance ended with Timo Werner going wide and the offside flag going up, although Var would have awarded a goal had he finished.

Lukaku’s first chance also came from a move instigated by Mount’s position as a right-sided forward supporting the Belgian. Even at this early stage, Mount was pointing to tell his team-mates where he wanted the ball.

It was down to Mount to conduct the attack as Chelsea’s strikers went down with injuries. Lukaku was the first to hobble off when Lasse Nielsen chopped him with a scissortackle. Then Werner went off with a muscle problem. The England midfielder put in a lively display, battling with Franz Brorsson to show the other side of his game, while also pulling off flicks during Chelsea attacks. He works best with N’golo Kante and Jorginho in the engine room behind him in midfield. Kante’s energy helps Chelsea to dominate the middle area, while Jorginho sets the pace of the game. It allows a player like Mount to be creative from different areas.

Tuchel eased him back into action after his injury, perhaps mindful of his workload in the last year for club and country. It was a mentally gruelling summer, with time spent in isolation at England’s training base at St George’s Park, testing negative for Covid-19 but having been in close contact with Billy Gilmour, who returned a positive.

Against Juve in the last round of group games, Tuchel left it to Mount to decide whether he was fit enough to play, and in the end he sat out the defeat. On his return to the starting line-up he looked geared up for a big display, bouncing around and waiting to be uncaged.

Chelsea look a different team without Mount playing. Last season he played in all but two of their Premier League games and has been a mainstay of the team since Frank Lampard’s reign when he returned from Derby County.

He may need to be managed as the games pile up, with Gareth Southgate not starting him against Andorra this season but playing him in bigger tests.

With Lukaku and Werner picking up injuries, Mount’s creativity could be even more important in the next weeks.