Tuchel lets rip as US tour falls flat
Furious Chelsea boss says his side may not be ready for new season after Arsenal humiliation
AFURIOUS Thomas Tuchel admitted he doubts his Chelsea side are ready for the new season after they were thrashed by Arsenal in the final game of their US tour.
The German added he could ‘not mention’ champions Manchester City and second-placed Liverpool, stating bluntly: ‘We got absolutely beaten by a team that does not play Champions League football this season.’
And after a miserable night in Orlando which saw his misfiring front line again struggle he turned on his strikers, stating: ‘It’s the same players — why should anything change?’
The impressive Gunners took a 2-0 lead into the break thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard. Bukayo Saka’s second-half tap-in and Albert Sambi Lokonga’s stoppage-time header completed the rout in front of close to 64,000 fans.
It completed a thoroughly underwhelming tour in which Chelsea defeated Mexico’s Club America in Las Vegas but then fell to defeats against MLS side Charlotte FC and Mikel Arteta’s rampant Arsenal.
Tuchel, who has so far added £47.5million Raheem Sterling and £34m Kalidou Koulibaly but is desperate for further reinforcements ahead of the Premier League opener at Everton on Saturday week, cut a frustrated figure.
He suggested Charlotte, a club that only entered MLS this year, had shown more courage than Chelsea on Wednesday and he again questioned his side’s mentality in Florida.
‘ We were simply not good enough,’ he said. ‘ We were absolutely not competitive. The worrying part is the level of commitment, physically and mentally. It was far higher for Arsenal than us.’
When asked if he felt Chelsea would be ready for the start of the season he suggested they were not and claimed some of his players’ minds were elsewhere, with doubts over the futures of Timo Werner and Cesar Azpilicueta.
‘I cannot guarantee,’ he said. ‘ There was a level of mental commitment that we lacked because we have a lot of players who are thinking about leaving and looking at their options.’
He also spoke of the ongoing effect of the Government sanctions put in place against former owner Roman Abramovich following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was followed by the departures of £97.5m record signing Romelu Lukau on loan to Inter Milan and centre backs Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers to Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.
‘We got sanctioned and players left us,’ he said. ‘We know that some players are trying to leave us and this is where it is.’
Chelsea hit a post through Mason Mount but rarely threatened.
And while Tuchel is happy to have Sterling, he feels his side needs more quality in the final third. He said: ‘We will hopefully see development but at the moment we have the same issues because we have the same players.’
Tuchel was at least pleased to see Koulibaly play just over 20 minutes. ‘He was the best player on the pitch for us,’ he said of the former Napoli defender. ‘On an evening where nothing felt good, this felt very good.’
He did, however, dismiss claims that pre-season matches were not important. ‘I don’t know if I ever lost a match in pre-season 4-0,’ he said. ‘ I can’t remember not winning two matches in a row in pre- season. I’m a huge fan of a strong pre- season in everything: atmosphere, feeling, performance, belief.’
Tuchel added that his side, who flew back to London immediately after the game, would be working hard over the coming days.
‘We need to present solutions,’ he said. ‘Me and the coaching staff, together with the team, need to step up and find a way through this because it hurts at the moment.’