Tuchel impressed by Koulibaly, Silva and Azpilicueta after Chelsea's win over Everton

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has lauded the reassuring partnership between Kalidou Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, and Cesar Azpilicueta.

The three were partnered in the defensive line as the Blues, who won their opening match of a league season for the 20th time, defeated Everton 1-0 to open their season with a victory at Goodison Park.

"It’s very reassuring to have players with as much experience as these guys have," Tuchel told the club’s website.

"They have so much experience, which could be another word for age! But in all seriousness, they have so much experience and so much quality in their work."

The Champions League-winning German tactician explained the important abilities the defenders have.

"Azpilicueta, he is a legend in this club," he continued.

"Thiago, at the moment he is still a very strong performer and is very important for us, and then with Kalidou, when the opportunity came for us to sign him, it was something we wanted to do because we still feel he has many good years ahead of him.

"We are so happy to have players such as Azpilicueta, Thiago, and Kalidou, but it is also important that we have the next generation coming through to eventually take over from them in future years.

Tuchel also discussed his playstyle that involves a back three and said he is very happy with the Koulibaly-Silva-Azpilicueta defensive axis.

"These guys are strong performers for us, though, and it is why we have them under contract. I’m very happy with them," he continued.

"The game is very physical and very demanding, this is the situation, so we do need other players to rotate with these guys.

"We are not complaining, we know the situation, and when you are at a club like Chelsea, you expect this because we have to have players at the top, top level to fight across many competitions."

Meanwhile, Koulibaly’s international teammate Edouard Mendy has kept a clean sheet in 47% of his Premier League starts (31/66) and only Ederson (50%) has a higher clean sheet ratio among keepers to have started at least 50 games.