Mason
Mount described his first Chelsea hat-trick as a "massive moment" as he
looks to score more goals, while Thomas Tuchel believes Mount will feel
"lighter" after breaking his goal duck for the season.
Ahead of the game against bottom side Norwich, Mount spoke about the need
for him to get more goals, especially in the absence of missing forwards
Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.
The 22-year-old had failed to score in 15 games for club and country so far
this season, but he delivered on his promise to get more goals in style as
the floodgates opened for Mount and his side .
He ended up grabbing a hat-trick in front of the watching England boss
Gareth Southgate as Chelsea routed Norwich.
And Mount insists the pressure he put on himself to get more goals has
finally paid off.
"Before the game, I put pressure on myself to get on the scoresheet, then
three came around in the same game", he told BT Sport.
"It's obviously a massive moment for me. I'll remember this one for a long
time.
"I was always getting in positions to score, but I just wasn't putting it in
the back of the net."
He added: "I just got told [Gareth Southgate] was watching. It's brilliant
for me and obviously to get my first goals of the season and an assist, it
was a good day.
"I thought the last one might be offside. It was my luck today, but it's
also about the team. We spoke before about being at it from the beginning,
we did that today. Players came in in the absence of other players. We were
on it the entire game but we never dropped our standards and kept going.
"I always want to play every game. Sometimes you've got to take a backwards
step, but in the last couple of games I've felt at it and ready to play.
It's a big moment for me to score three at home at Stamford Bridge."
Tuchel: Mount will feel 'lighter'
Meanwhile, Tuchel believes Mount will feel "lighter" after breaking his goal
duck for the season.
The England international led the charge from Chelsea's academy graduates as
the Blues cemented top spot in the Premier League, with boss Tuchel
delighted the England forward moved off the mark for the campaign.
"A hat-trick for Mason is huge, it's a massive moment for him; he's very,
very proud," said Tuchel.
"I felt him a bit lighter, plays with a bit more freedom in the last
matches. This is what we need.
"He's still had a lot of games for him at a young age.
"He's very competitive and very serious about the goals he wants to reach. I
feel him a bit lighter now."
Tuchel hails Mount's importance to Chelsea
Mount partnered Kai Havertz and Hudson-Odoi up front, with Chelsea coping
comfortably without injured £152m strike duo Lukaku and Werner.
Mount's treble was bolstered by goals for Callum Hudson-Odoi, Reece James
and Ben Chilwell, with Max Aarons putting through his own net as Chelsea
eased to victory against a Norwich side, who had Ben Gibson sent off late on
at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel hailed Mount's importance to Chelsea's 3-4-3 formation, with the
22-year-old able to fill a hybrid role to bridge midfield and attack.
"Well as you know, we play in most games with three strikers and Mason is
one of them," said Tuchel.
"You can say he's maybe between an eight and a 10, so not a real striker, so
in that way we really depend on him. He plays a key role.
"The wing-backs play with more freedom to help our strikers really in the
last line and they feel more and more confident.
"It's a complex game. There's very rarely one reason why things happen like
this - but we depend on Mason and we want to.
"We like his style, where he comes from, his personality and he's a top guy.
So we're very happy for him."
Analysis: Chelsea's formidable firepower
Sky Sports' Nick Wright:
No Romelu Lukaku, no matter. Chelsea's 7-0 demolition of Norwich showed that
even without their £97.5m striker, and without Timo Werner too, there is
still an abundance of firepower available to Thomas Tuchel.
Norwich offered little in the way of resistance, in truth, but that should
take nothing away from a clinical Chelsea showing. They have been lauded
primarily for their defensive prowess under Tuchel but that's 11 goals in
four days following the 4-0 win over Malmo.
There is a sense of something clicking into gear for the Premier League
leaders and that's certainly true of Mount.
The 22-year-old had not found the net since May before this game but he took
his first goal brilliantly, showed composure to score the re-taken penalty
for his second, then popped up in the right place at the right time to
complete his hat-trick.
Mount was outstanding but he was not the only Chelsea player to toy with the
beleaguered visitors. Callum Hudson-Odoi continued his recent revival with a
clinically-taken strike in the first half while Reece James and Ben
Chilwell, scorers of the third and fourth goals respectively, demonstrated
their offensive qualities too.
There was no goal for Kai Havertz, who filled in for Lukaku as Chelsea's
false nine, but Mateo Kovacic underlined his creative threat with a pair of
assists, taking his tally to five in the Premier League this season, and
there were also eye-catching contributions from the bench.
Ross Barkley seemed determined to make an impact after replacing Havertz and
the same was true of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Hakim Ziyech, who combined
superbly to set up Mount's third goal.
The competition for places seems to be bringing the best out of Chelsea's
offensive players and that's good news for Tuchel - especially as he awaits
Lukaku's return to fitness.
Farke on 7-0 defeat: It's embarrassing
Norwich head coach Daniel Farke says his players are very self-critical
following their 7-0 defeat to Chelsea but they need to react to the result
While Chelsea ensured they will stay top of the table whatever happens
elsewhere this weekend, an abject Norwich were consigned to the foot of the
table.
The Canaries remain winless in the nine league outings this term, leaving
boss Daniel Farke surprisingly candid about the Carrow Road side's
shortcomings.
"I'm sure you can imagine how the spirit is in the dressing room," said
Farke. "Even with our best possible performance, if Chelsea had a good day
they would still win.
"In all topics, we gave possession away so unnecessarily, not aware enough
in defending. We didn't move quick enough in behind, we didn't move quick
enough to pressure the ball in midfield.
"We've lost 7-0 and to lose 7-0 is always a bit embarrassing.
"The individual pride of everyone connected to the yellow shirt takes a hit
and you must take this pain into the next game."
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