has defended ‘unlucky’ and insists he is not concerned about the goalkeeper’s form.
Mendy, who joined Chelsea for £22m in 2020, produced another shaky performance in the club’s 2-1 Premier League win over on Saturday.
The Senegal shot-stopper was punished for a tame punch as Michail Antonio gave the Hammers the lead and was offered a huge reprieve late on as Maxwel Cornet’s equaliser was controversially ruled out for a foul by Jarrod Bowen.
Mendy helped Chelsea win the Champions League in 2021 but his performances have dipped since then and he has struggled in several games already this season.
Tuchel acknowledged that ‘things are not going his way’ but promised to ‘support’ Mendy, who he believes is suffering from a run of bad luck.
‘I think at the moment he is a bit unlucky in what he is doing,’ Tuchel said of his No. 1 goalkeeper.
‘In training, he is fantastic, and he is, in general, a very calm and self-reflective guy who is aware that he lacks a little bit of luck at the moment.
‘Things do not go in his favour. If he has maybe a situation where his action isn’t 100% clear, he gets punished for it massively.
‘He is just in this moment, and it feels like it’s not so much his fault. I have the feeling because he tries everything, he is very calm and focused. We will keep on supporting him.’
Tuchel felt VAR made the right call to disallow West Ham’s late equaliser at Stamford Bridge but David Moyes was left furious by the decision.
‘It is a Scan**lous decision, absolutely rotten from one of the supposedly elite referees,’ Moyes told Sky Sports. ‘It doesn’t say much about whoever sent him over from VAR as well.
‘It is an unbelievable decision against us. The goalkeeper comes to take it and fumbles it out of his hands. Then he acted as if it was a shoulder injury.
‘I’m amazed that VAR sent the referee to the screen. It was a ridiculously bad decision. Today there is no excuse for that not to be a goal, none whatsoever.
‘The sad thing is that this is the level of our elite refereeing at the moment. They’ve got new people in charge who are trying to do something.
‘I’ve lost faith in them today in the people who are putting up for VAR. After watching it, I can’t see how the goal was not given.
‘The referees said they were going to cut back on soft challenges and that was unbelievably soft.
‘Referees can make mistakes. I do not see that in a million years. I’m more embarrassed for the guy in VAR than the referee because that’s telling me someone who doesn’t understand football and shouldn’t be near the game if that is enough to put someone near the screen.’
West Ham captain Declan Rice also vented his anger on social media, writing: ‘That’s up there with one of the worst VAR decisions made since it’s come into the game. Shambles.
‘I can’t believe the referee has even been asked to go take a look at the monitor! Cannot see how they’ve come to that decision.’
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