Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was pleased with Kalidou Koulibaly for victory over Udinese last night.

The start was Koulibaly's first since his arrival from Napoli this summer and the 31-year-old instantly looked at home on the left of the Chelsea back three. The Senegal international was composed on the ball, helped Chelsea progress possession, and made one very important interception in the first half to stop a Udinese counter.

Koulibaly received plenty of praise after the game and Tuchel stated that it was very much deserved.

The German said: "He is a very, very good signing. A strong personality, a strong player. I am happy that he could play 70 minutes now. He's getting fitter and fitter which is very important for us for the start of the season."

Fellow summer signing Raheem Sterling also started for the Blues and got on the scoresheet in the opening period. "He had chances, very heavily involved in other chances, it was a good performance," was Tuchel's brief assessment of the England international's display.