Chelsea coach Zsolt Low insists he's 'very happy' with Romelu Lukaku's match-winning display

Zsolt Low was 'very happy' with Romelu Lukaku's performance against Al Hilal on Wednesday night. He felt the striker had 'given everything' to help Chelsea win their semi-final.

Low was responsible for guiding Chelsea to their 1-0 victory after manager Thomas Tuchel tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Club World Cup clash.

However, he did reveal that Tuchel had dialled in during their half-time team talk and credited the Chelsea boss with claiming the players down.

Speaking after the game, Low said: ‘We [Chelsea] worked very hard, but we missed a little bit of freedom and rhythm.

‘We started a little bit nervously and didn’t do the easy things. We fought hard to find a solution on the pitch, but we didn’t find it easy.

‘To get to the final of this competition is very important for the club. We have never won it and that’s why the players felt the pressure but they did very well to not concede and we had opportunities to score a second goal.’

Low gave special credit to Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz for their performances on Wednesday evening.

The Chelsea coach praised Lukaku for 'giving everything' during the fixture and said Havertz looked 'dangerous in attack'.

He told Chelsea's official website: ‘Romelu fought very hard in the last game and he gave everything, and that’s why we gave him the chance today.

'He had a little bit of luck to score the goal but we are very happy and he is very happy. We hope he continues like this and scores in the final.

‘Kai Havertz had a very good week in training and that’s why we decided to let him play, to see his quality in the game.

'He did his job very well, he had some dangerous attacks, and he worked hard to close down space in defence. He had a good game.’

Low also revealed how Thomas Tuchel dialled into their half-time team talk. He said the Chelsea boss 'helped calm the team down' after their frantic start.

Low said: ‘We talked to Thomas at half-time. We had a good conversation and he had the same feeling as us that we were a bit nervous and had a lot of easy ball losses.

‘We talked about it at half-time and tried to prepare for the guys to calm down and play with a better rhythm, and not fight so hard for difficult solutions. We had a good conversation with Thomas and it helped the team.’

When asked whether he knew when Tuchel could fly out to join the players, Low said he was not sure.

He told reporters: ‘Everybody hopes Thomas can travel as soon as possible. He is following government rules and is in self-isolation.

'We do every day a PCR test and when we have the first negative result it will open the possibility for Thomas to travel.

‘We are waiting for it and we are sure he can come and he can enjoy the final.’