‘Everything against us’ – Tuchel vents Chelsea frustrations; provides initial Reece James injury judgement
Thomas Tuchel aired his frustration after Chelsea were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Brighton, during which their injury situation worsened.
Chelsea looked to be on course for a third consecutive win after Romelu Lukaku put them in front with a header. However, they faced plenty of pressure from Brighton, who eventually equalised in stoppage time via Danny Welbeck.
It was a deserved reward for the visitors’ efforts, bringing Chelsea down to earth again. Although seven unbeaten in all competitions, they have struggled to build genuine momentum during December.
To complicate their situation, Reece James went off in the first half with what looked like a potentially serious injury. Given Tuchel is already dealing with several injuries in his squad, the timing was not ideal.
James was one of two players to be forced off, the other being Andreas Christensen. Having already complained about the scheduling, Tuchel was even more frustrated after their second game in four days.
“Very frustrating, of course very disappointing because we gave everything and we had enough big chances to decide the match,” Tuchel told Amazon Prime.
“It was a very intense match and we have another two changes because of injuries. So in the dressing room they are completely, completely exhausted. But it is the same subject every single matchday now.
“And we have a horrible decision from the referee. It is a clear penalty for two zero, not even checked. So everything against us.”
Tuchel was referring to an incident in which Christian Pulisic went down in the box after an apparent trip.
Tuchel confirms nature of James injury
His main focus though was on how stretched his squad has been recently. Now, with two more players set for spells on the sidelines – with particular concerns for James – he said they need to be protected more.
“We have two injuries. Again we have to play with players who would normally be out after 60 mins, that’s the point,” Tuchel said.
“No prognosis (on James). Hamstring injury.
“We can try to find players who are ready to play. We have no more wing-backs, we have everybody injured and players coming back from Covid situations and we’re playing, playing, playing.
“I will always protect my players and first of all we need to digest this.”
There is another quick turnaround before Chelsea’s next game, against Liverpool on Sunday.
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