“Now that Thomas Tuchel chooses him, everybody will agree” – says Mountgate after England defeated Albania

England Gareth Southgate believes Mason Mount is only now getting the recognition he deserves because Thomas Tuchel is now managing him at Chelsea rather than Frank Lampard.

Southgate is a huge admirer of the 22-year-old and named him in his starting XI for the seventh game in a row for Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Albania. The midfielder scored England’s second goal in a 2-0 win.

However, his and Lampard’s loyalty to the player has been called into question in some areas, which Southgate believes only changed after the manager’s change at Stamford Bridge.

What did Southgate say?

After managing Mount at Derby and then Chelsea, Lampard was accused of favoritism as he continued to pick the midfielder on his squad.

These allegations followed Mount internationally despite scoring four goals in 15 internationals.

Lampard was fired in January and replaced with the more experienced Tuchel, who continued to select Mount, and Southgate says that should silence its critics for good.

After winning in Tirana on Sunday, Southgate said of Mount, “He’s a great player, but I said that in the fall. I suppose now that Thomas Tuchel chooses him, everyone will agree. If it was Frank, for some reason it doesn’t count.

“He’s an exceptional player. He finds space intelligently, he manipulates the ball very well, he creates opportunities and he can score goals. I thought his performance tonight was excellent. “

Southgate considered the rest of the team effort and added, “I thought Phil Foden was good too. I liked our attacking four. [Declan] Rice and [Kalvin] Phillips read the game well, kicked off well, and quickly won the ball back. We had over 70% possession and were in control of the game. In the end we created more chances and we could have scored more goals. “

The bigger picture

England’s victory in Albania brought two of two World Cup qualifying wins with their upcoming home game against Poland on Wednesday.

Although Mount has been featured in both games so far this international break, he is likely to return to Wembley as the three Lions claim a third consecutive qualifying win.

He then returns to Chelsea, where he has already played 39 games in all competitions. Tuchel’s team is fourth in the Premier League and continues in the Champions League and the FA Cup.

further reading