Chelsea midfielder, Mason Mount, has claimed Thomas Tuchel was playing mind games with him ahead of their Premier League clash with Norwich City on Saturday.
Mount netted a hat-trick as the Blues recorded a resounding 7-0 win.
Mount opened the scoring after just eight minutes and completed it after 91, having scored a retaken penalty six minutes earlier.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, Reece James and Ben Chilwell were also on the score sheet, as was Norwich’s Max Aarons with an own goal.
It was put to Mount by BT Sport that Tuchel had labelled him ‘mentally tired’ ahead of the game, and the midfielder feels it may have been a ploy to get the best out of him.
‘Maybe it’s a bit of mind games and I need to show him that I’m not (mentally fatigued),’ said Mount.
‘You know me I always want to play every game. But sometimes you’ve got to take a backwards step but I feel today and over the last couple of games I feel at it and ready to play and I’m absolutely buzzing for today.’
The 22-year-old hadn’t scored for club or country since May when he netted in the Champions League semi-final win over Real Madrid.
However, he says he has not been worried about his dry spell, confident that he has been getting into the right positions and that goals would come – which they now have.