Thomas Tuchel said that anything is possible for Chelsea after they responded to the absence of Romelu Lukaku, Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner by staying top of the Premier League thanks to a 7-0 win over Norwich at Stamford Bridge.
Callum Hudson-Odoi impressed after being handed a rare start on the left flank and Mason Mount scored a hat-trick as the European champions recorded their biggest win under Tuchel, who was delighted with his side’s ruthlessness.
“Maybe we found a bit of the spirit to have higher ball recoveries, maybe higher frequency of attacks and touches in the box and more bodies around the box makes things a bit easier,” he said. “I don’t want to get carried away too much. We’ve played four times in a row as favourites and I like the humble approach and we set our own standards.
“We push ourselves and play all in – this is the most important and anything is possible. If you have a bit of luck and have more chances you get more confident – we are capable of scoring four or seven goals which is good. There will be other closer games and [we must] be prepared for that when it arrives.”
Lukaku is expected to be out for at least a fortnight with an ankle injury, Pulisic remains troubled by a persistent ankle problem and Werner was missing with a hamstring injury.
The injuries in attack made no difference against Norwich, who remain bottom of the league. Mount’s first hat-trick for Chelsea was one of several positives for Tuchel.
“To have a hat-trick for Mason is huge,” he said. “He plays with a bit more freedom in the last few matches. He’s very competitive and serious about his goals he wants to reach. I see him a bit lighter now and it means a lot to him that he has a hat-trick under his belt.”
Tuchel wants even more from Hudson-Odoi, who scored his first goal of the season. “He had a good game,” he said. “There are still things to improve. He needs to show the club he’s able to put in performances like this consistently.”
Norwich, who lost Ben Gibson to a red card in the second half, were dreadful, but their manager, Daniel Farke, insisted that they can stay up. “We are not overly happy and it is not good for the confidence, but it is not season-defining,” he said.