Thomas Tuchel bemoans his selection choices after Chelsea’s bitterly disappointing 1-0 loss to Manchester City, identifying where he went wrong against Pep Guardiola’s side
Thomas Tuchel’s nine-month stint as Chelsea manager has been remarkable, to say the least.
The former Paris Saint-Germain boss guided the Blues to a top-four finish in the Premier League last season before showcasing his undeniable coaching ability as his side clinched the UEFA Champions League trophy, beating Manchester City 1-0 in May’s final.
Now, the west Londoners sit third in the table after six games, having won four, drawn one and lost one.
Their one loss came over the weekend as City avenged the aforementioned final, defeating Chelsea 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal from Brazilian international Gabriel Jesus.
Pep Guardiola’s side dominated the affair, controlling large parts of the game as the Blues failed to register a single shot on target despite the game taking place at Stamford Bridge.
After the full-time whistle, Tuchel identified three decisions that he made before the game that may have turned out to be the wrong choices, citing his team selection as the main reason for the bitterly disappointing defeat. “NG [N’golo Kante] ill since some days and I decided to let him start, Jorginho had some problems, Thiago (Silva) could not start maybe this is on me, not the very best choices.”
The German coach garnered considerable criticism from large sections of the media for his defensive approach, opting to field five defenders whilst Kante and Jorginho were joined by Mateo Kovacic in a flat midfield three.
Tuchel will be hoping to get back to winning ways this week as his side travel to Turin to face Juventus in the Champions League group stage.
The Blues won their opening European fixture, defeating Russian outfit Zenit Saint Petersburg 1-0 thanks to a goal from club-record signing Romelu Lukaku.
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