Trevoh Chalobah has revealed the extent of the influence of Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly which has helped him play central centre-back for Chelsea.
The 23-year-old was selected by Graham Potter to play in the middle of the defence on Wednesday night against Brentford in the Premier League. With help from goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, they kept another clean sheet to make it five games in a row in all competitions without conceding a goal.
Chelsea had to settle for a 0-0 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium but there were plenty of positives for the visitors, including the defensive record as well as Chalobah’s own performance.
With Silva being rested and five changes being made from the 2-0 win over Aston Villa, Chalobah was joined alongside Kalidou Koulibaly and Cesar Azpilicueta in defence.
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Chalobah’s positive performance was labelled as a ‘soldier’ by Potter at full-time, who was full of praise for the Englishman’s display in the capital.
“He’s come in and hasn’t let us down,” Potter told Amazon Prime. “Again, he gives everything.
“ A tough evening for him with the centre-forwards Brentford have.
“Different test, but stood up to it well. A soldier.”
Chalobah was pleased with his own performance and admits versatility has helped him earn a place since Potter’s arrival at Stamford Bridge last month.
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"It was good,” Chalobah reflected on the goalless draw. “Learning from Thiago and Koulibaly. It’s good to be versatile and I thought I did well."
Another clean sheet for Chelsea felt like a goal for the defence, added Chalobah, which is helping Potter’s side remain unbeaten, which saw them extend it to seven games on Wednesday night.
"We are looking at it as a goal for us defenders and as a team," Chalobah told football.london.
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"If we keep doing the clean sheets, we know that the chances will be created and we will win more games. The most important things for us right now are the clean sheets."
Silva is likely to come back into the team on Saturday against Manchester United and with Wesley Fofana sidelined with a knee injury, Chalobah would be expected to shift back across to the right centre-back position.
Chalobah concluded ahead of Saturday’s fixture: "With a lot of games coming thick and fast, recovery is important as the manager said. Our recovery over the next few days is going to be very important. Another big one again."
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Topics: Chelsea, Trevoh Chalobah, Premier League, Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly
Matthew Debono