“I don’t fear any opponent, I know what we are capable of” – Tuchel urges Chelsea to ‘toughen up’ and show ‘different mentality’ to bounce back after Southampton loss
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has urged his team to toughen up following their Premier League loss against Southampton on Tuesday night.
The Blues took the lead through Raheem Sterling in the 23rd minute, with the Englishman scoring his third goal in two games.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's side made a strong comeback and equalized through another former Manchester City player, Romeo Lavia. Adam Armstrong's goal in added time at the end of the first half eventually proved to be the winner.
After the game, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel opened up on his side's 'soft defending' that presented opportunities for Southampton.
He has also claimed that he is not worried following a slow start to the season and has urged his team to bounce back as soon as possible. Tuchel said (as quoted by Football.London):
"Worried? No. I don't fear any opponent, I know what we are capable of.
🗣️ "We are not tough enough."
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel reacts to their 2-1 defeat against Southampton tonight 💬 https://t.co/Jpug25gM17
"This up and down, what we showed against Leeds, it's not the face that we can expect to get points away from home.
"Soft, soft, soft defending. There is no need to give shots away. Just toughen up as a team and show a different mentality."
Chelsea find themselves eighth in the table after five games with just seven points, while Southampton are seventh with the same number of points.
With two wins, two defeats and one draw, this has been far from an ideal start to their campaign for the Blues.
They take on West Ham United on Saturday and will be desperate for a victory against a side who have also endured a poor start to their season.
Chelsea have plenty of reasons to be worried
Chelsea's poor start to the season can be attributed to their attackers' below-par performances. Kai Havertz has attracted plenty of criticism from fans and the media for not delivering any kind of attacking output, while Mason Mount has also endured a below-average start to the season.
2 – Chelsea have lost at least two of their opening five games to a Premier League campaign for just the second time in 27 seasons, after losing three of their first five in 2015-16 – eventually finishing 10th place that year. Ominous. https://t.co/qmQIoBJy3z
Tuchel's tactics and team selection have also been scrutinized as he has kept his trust in the same system and personnel despite not getting the right results.
Hakim Ziyech finally got his first start of the season against the Saints but Christian Pulisic was once again on the bench and came on as a second-half substitute.