Like the 16th Century alchemists, Thomas Tuchel came to Prague in search of chemistry, looking to conjure a magical blend from his precious resources.He left, not with gold, but with three points, two goals and a clean sheet to get the Nations League campaign in motion.England found a winning formula and kept a clean sheet with no little help from the Czechs who played for more than an hour with 10 men and proved useful hosts for Tuchel’s experimentation.Crossing the TrentTrent Alexander-Arnold started for the first time under Tuchel who appeared to have finally reached the point where there was simply no other option than the man from Real Madrid.There was logic to his selection on the basis England would expect plenty of the ball and that’s how it turned out.The Czechs dug in deep and England threw their full backs high and wide. Maybe too high, smothering the space the wingers need to play in and making for a congested final third. Trent Alexander-Arnold was handed his first-ever start under Thomas Tuchel for EnglandIn the first-half, England offered far greater threat down the left where the Newcastle axis of Lewis Hall and Anthony Gordon, the pick of the players on the night, dovetailed with a natural understanding lacking between Bukayo Saka and Alexander-Arnold on the right.’We never doubted that he can produce these kinds of assists,’ Tuchel said at full-time. ‘The deeper position in the second-half suited him more than the higher position in the first-half.’Overall I think we had a good and professional performance. Of course the red card, like always, an early red card is such a heavy influence in the game, it makes the task sometimes a little bit more complicated psychologically.’Tweaking ThomasTuchel’s tactical tweak produced an instant impact. Sometimes they go your way as a manager and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes you look like a genius. Sometimes an idiot.With Eberechi Eze on for Myles Lewis-Skelly at half-time, England came out with two number 10s, Eze and Morgan Rogers, in behind centre forward Harry Kane in a 4141 shape.Elliot Anderson anchored midfield alone and the first thing this did was to open an inviting channel for Alexander-Arnold to push through on the inside of Saka rather than the outside.It enabled him to get onto the ball in a dangerous area and whip over a sublime cross for Gordon to head in. Full credit to Gordon, attacking the ball at the back post. He really does appear to have grown in confidence since his move to Barcelona.But to Alexander-Arnold, too. This second-half against 10 men was precisely the circumstances in which his talents can excel, largely relieved of defensive responsibilities and free to roam.He rose to the challenge, help England into the lead and rose to the role of senior pro as he looked after teenager Rio Ngumoha who came on in the 71st minute.Cleaning the sheetsTuchel had been quizzed on the eve of the game about his team’s inability to keep a clean sheet in six games since beating Panama 2-0 at the World Cup, during which time England conceded 13 goals.He insisted this was not a collective problem based on the way they set out to defend but down to individual errors, as in evidence against Spain on Saturday and in the opening moments against the Czechs.’A danger to ourselves’ was his phrase. Tuchel changed three quarters of Saturday’s back four, but England opponents were prepared to sit off and give centre-halves Marc Guehi and Trevoh Chalobah as much of the ball as they wanted.This tempted Anderson and Lewis-Skelly to drop and demand more possession in deeper areas, which in turn drew Harry Kane into midfield areas. That’s where he was when he lost the ball in the first-half and led to a scare when Chalobah recovered to make a vital block.After the redThe red card flattened the atmosphere inside the Fortuna Area. The crowd just shy of 19,000 did not seem to turn up with any great expectation and there was a strange absence of fury when Pavel Sulc was sent off for a bad tackle rather than a vicious tackle on Anderson midway through the first-half.Those with the drums and loud hailers behind the goal barely broke stride and the rest of the stadium simply lost heart, a feeling which infected the Czech players and England played out to half-time in almost complete possession. The dismissal of Pavel Sulc for his foul on Elliot Anderson killed off the hosts’ energy in PragueSpace for England in the final third vanished, effectively turning the contest into a training exercise with an attacking unit trying to pick through a packed defence.It left James Trafford as a virtual spectator on a night when he hoped to impress but he will cherish the clean sheet and late saves made as the Czechs threw caution to the wind.Eze before BellinghamTuchel resisted the urge to summon Jude Bellingham in the search for a goal. Instead, he turned to Eze’s creative flair and unpredictability but beyond that the whole team moved the ball at a quicker tempo.The sharper movement dragged the Czechs out of shape. Once Gordon’s opener went in, the home team made occasional forays forward and the contest opened up again.England were two up by the time Bellingham came on to replace Kane soon after the skipper had scored his 87th international goal to prove he doesn’t have to play brilliantly to affect the game. The sign of a great goalscorer.READ MORE: Czech Republic 0-2 England PLAYER RATINGS: How did Trent Alexander-Arnold fare on his return? Who was almost embarrassed by an early error? Who proved he belongs at international level?