Arsenal vs Chelsea: Blues Boss Thomas Tuchel Blasts His Players Following Humiliating 0–4 Defeat to London Rivals
The German manager did not mince any word after his side was comprehensively defeated. He also said that he isn't sure if Chelsea would be ready for the Premier League in two weeks.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel hit out at his players after they suffered an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Arsenal in a club friendly on Sunday, July 24. Goals from Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga were enough to see Arsenal clinch a pretty convincing win and maintain their 100% record this pre-season. Speaking to reporters after the match, Tuchel tore into his players, commenting on their physical and mental commitment to the game. "I am far from relaxed. We were simply not good enough. We were simply not competitive," Goal.com quoted him saying. Arsenal vs Chelsea Video Highlights: From Gabriel Jesus to Bukayo Saka, Gunners Net Four Goals To Hand Opponents Embarrassing Defeat in Pre-Season Friendly
The German added, "The worrying part is that the level of commitment physically and mentally for this match was far higher for Arsenal than for us. They played I think what is their strongest line-up and structure that you see now for several weeks. This was the line-up they will try to start for Premier League games. It was surely not our strongest line-up. This is a part of an explanation but only a little part and the other part is worrying. I cannot guarantee we will be ready in two weeks."
This was Chelsea's second consecutive defeat in pre-season after they were beaten on penalties by Charlotte in their last match. Tuchel also said that they need to have more signings this summer to prepare well for the upcoming season. "I look at the last season and parts of the game where we struggled, parts of the season where we struggled, and then we got sanctioned and players left us and some players are trying to leave us, and this is where it is. So we had an urgent appeal for quality players, a huge amount of quality players. We got two quality players but we are not competitive like this. Unfortunately, you could see it today," he said.
Chelsea next take on Udinese in the pre-season before starting their Premier League campaign against Everton on August 6.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2022 05:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).