has admitted that he has been completely stunned by ’s poor defensive performances in their last two games.
The Blues have become renowned for being tight at the back and hard to break down under the German manager since his appointment just over a year ago.
Even in the last few months, as they lost ground in the title race, Tuchel’s team were still hard to score against, keeping eight clean sheets in their last 13 games in all competitions before the March international break.
But in their two games since returning from the break, Chelsea have conceded seven goals at Stamford Bridge, four to Brentford in the Premier League and three, all scored by Karim Benzema, to in the .
The latter of those games has left the defending European champions with a lot to do if they want to retain their crown, with Tuchel going as far as to say that the Blues had no chance in winning the tie at all.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s game against Southampton, the manager said: ‘It’s not like us to defend like this and concede so many goals. We didn’t see it coming because it wasn’t the case before the international break. It’s not so easy to deal with because it doesn’t fit into a pattern.
‘We don’t like it. I don’t know if we’re concerned but it’s very untypical for us. We had a look into it, talked to the team about it to try to work out how to improve.’
With outstanding defenders such as Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva among their ranks, as well as one of the world’s best goalkeepers in the form of Edouard Mendy, it is surprising to see Chelsea so defensively fragile.
Tuchel will want and need to sort out whatever problems they’re having soon though, as the club are now in danger of missing out on a place in the top four, with the Blues still third in the table but now just five points ahead of London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
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