Thomas Tuchel has delivered his verdict on Chelsea’s dismal 1-0 defeat against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday evening in the Champions League.
Chelsea kicked off their 2022/23 European campaign with a 1-0 loss in Croatia at the Stadion Maksimir as the pressure mounted on Tuchel and his side.
Mislav Orsic’s goal in the 13th minute was enough to separate the two sides, with the Blues tasting defeat for the third time in seven games this season.
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Despite early pressure from Chelsea, the goal saw the players’ confidence levels drop and they struggled to find a way back in it.
All five substitutes were made as Tuchel looked to switch things up, but there was little to no improvement.
The result means they are now on a win-loss trend across all competitions.
Tuchel spoke to BT Sport after the full-time whistle, and shared his thoughts on what was a poor night from the two-time Champions League winners.
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“Well it’s an underperformance from us. Same story like always. Okay start, we don’t finish our half chances to put the game to bed.
“Then we concede one counter-attack which is too easy. Then yeah, we lose the match.
“Too much to analyse. I’m part of it. We are clearly not where we need to be. It’s on me, on us, we need to find solutions. At the moment everything is missing.
“It seems like this, it’s hard to argue against it (team sinks).”
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Five things we learned during Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League
Chelsea opted to start with a new front three against Zagreb, with new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lining up alongside Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz.
In the opening stages, the trio appeared to be working well together and were showing some promise when going forward, but all of the side’s hard work in the first ten minutes or so was soon undone.
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Orsic was played through on goal and had the pace to beat Wesley Fofana in the Blues defence before slotting it past Kepa Arrizabalaga in between the sticks.
Tuchel’s side did not look like scoring afterwards, with many players appearing to be reluctant to shoot in encouraging positions.
Such a result was a real representation of their struggles as of late; they still have just one clean sheet to claim all season and ideas in attack appear to be lacking.
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Chelsea will now return to west London and prepare to face neighbours Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.
A real improvement is needed, otherwise form dictates that they will soon slip down the table.
Topics: Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel, Champions League
Robert Calcutt