Chelsea took huge leaps in their quest for top-four qualification as they went six points clear of fifth-placed West Ham, thanks to a 2-0 derby win over Fulham.
In a rotated side due to the ongoing Champions League semi-final tie, Mason Mount laid on the 10th-minute opener for Kai Havertz who scored a sublime brace.
Mount executed an exquisite control from Thiago Silva’s long pass, killing the ball dead before rolling on a perfectly-weighed through ball for his German counterpart to run onto and finish calmly.
It has been full circle for the Chelsea Academy graduate who was omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s first game at the Chelsea helm in a goalless draw with Wolves in January. He has since been undroppable and remains Chelsea’s best player in 2020/21.
Mount starred in midfield in the 3-1-4-2 shape against the Cottagers and played 80 minutes of customary class.
“He has the full package, mentally, in terms of talent and physically,” said Tuchel. “And the most important part is his character, he has his feet on the ground and he’s a nice guy.
“He comes to Cobham every day to learn something new and have new experiences. He is the guy who can recover very fast, he’s a very physical player and is fully adapted to Premier League football.
“He has big self-confidence in a very, very positive way. It’s a pleasure to have him, be at his side and guide him and support him.
“It’s impressive, he’s not affected by all the praise. This is maybe the most important part. He seems to be a guy who likes the sport and feels an obligation to make the most out of it. And he wants it absolutely badly, so it’s a top mix.”
Anxiously, the 22-year-old suffered a hard landing on his behind as he clutched his lower back a few minutes before going off.
Asked if the England international had picked up any kind of injury issue, Tuchel said: “I hope not, it was my decision, there was not any doctor or physio who told me to take him off.
“But I saw him landing hard and it was the moment when we wanted to take him off anyway. I saw him holding his back slightly, so we didn’t want to take any risks but I have no other information on that.”
Tuchel was full of praise for the players he selected on Saturday. Admitting it was a big test to confine their focus to this important league clash, with the game sandwiched between two heavyweight semi-final games against Real Madrid.
“This is the perfect match and the boys get a lot of credit from the coach for this,” said Tuchel.
“You can get easily confused between two big matches like this. So it was absolutely necessary that we prepared the match with full focus.
“It was important that we invested fully physically and mentally. That’s why the team gets full credit, it was a big win and we can arrive with a clear mind with nothing to regret or think about ahead of Wednesday.”
Mount, who completed his 100th Chelsea appearance in the first leg against Real Madrid, now has eight goals and as many assists in 48 appearances across all competitions.
Chelsea’s hopes on Wednesday will firmly rest on Mount and Havertz as they push to win the tie which is finely poised at 1-1.
