has explained why Trevoh Chalobah was absent from the squad for Saturday’s surprise defeat to Brentford.
The Blues had taken the lead in the second after a long-range effort from Antonio Rudiger, but the Bees hit back with four goals to claim all three points.
A brace from Vitaly Janelt and goals from Christian Eriksen and Yoane Wissa earned Brentford their first win against Chelsea since 1939.
Chalobah, who started in the Blues’ three previous Premier League games, was left out of the matchday squad, with Tuchel opting for Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva as his starting centre-backs in a back four.
When asked in his post-match press conference why Chalobah wasn’t in the squad, the Chelsea boss said: ‘Selection. We decided to play a back four and we chose four centre-backs.’
Analysing his team’s performance, Tuchel added: ‘We were working hard for the first goal and we know how hard it is against Brentford. They defend high and man mark or defend deep in a block around the box. So we have to remain patient.
‘Once we had it, we stopped defending and game three goals way in ten minutes. It Ki**ed the game for us. I don’t know why [we stopped defending].
‘We didn’t defend mature enough, were not aware of the danger in these moments, which is strange for us.
‘The made the most of these ten minutes which is maybe not normal. But it’s our fault. We maybe felt a bit leggy but after 20/25 minutes we controlled the match and got better and better.
‘Second half, I was happy with the start and we got the goal that we wanted to open up new spaces, but the opposite happened.’
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