"There was nothing to lose here" - Tuchel feels Chelsea lacked mentality in Manchester City defeat
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel believes his side lacked the right mentality in their home defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the Premier League.
Speaking after the game, Thomas Tuchel said Chelsea needed to play with a fearless mentality. The Chelsea manager accepted that his side were second best and Manchester City deserved to take away all three points. Tuchel said:
"We played with the mentality that we had something to lose but there was nothing to lose here. We needed the mentality from the start to take risks, they made us underperform and deserved to win."
Thomas Tuchel might have set up his tactics in a more defensive manner than he should have in a home game which hampered Romelu Lukaku's involvement in the game. The new Chelsea forward was barely threatening due to having minimal support up front.
Speaking about Chelsea's lack of attack, Tuchel said:
"The attacks were already half-over when the ball reached him (Lukaku)."
Thomas Tuchel blames the lack of adaptability rather than his structure for Chelsea's defeat to Manchester City. Tuchel played his tried-and-tested 3-5-2 formation but still lost the game. In response, Tuchel said:
"We can debate this endlessly and never have the answers. We decided for 3-5-2 but I don't think it is a matter of structure. It is about adapting to the opponent to find the spaces."
Tuchel on whether Chelsea were too defensive at the time: "We can debate this endlessly and never have the answers. We decided for 3-5-2 but I don't think it is a matter of structure. It is about adapting to the opponent to find the spaces." #CFC #CHEMCI
Manchester City outplayed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea suffered their first league defeat of the season after making an electric start to the new campaign. In a closely fought fixture, a single goal from Gabriel Jesus in the second-half was enough to hand Pep Guardiola's men all three points at Stamford Bridge.
It was a game Manchester City deserved to win. Pep Guardiola's side dominated possession and created more chances than Chelsea and could have won by an even bigger margin.
Chelsea will not have much time to ponder their defeat. The Blues now travel to Italy to take on Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Thomas Tuchel's side have made a winning start to the Champions League after winning their opening match against Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg.
Chelsea will next face Southampton at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to secure all three points against a side who are so far winless in the Premier League.
Thanks for your support today, Blues. 💙
Time to focus on Wednesday and bounce back. 👊 https://t.co/6NBaEMZDPN