Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has delivered his verdict on Chelsea’s 5-3 penalty shoot-out defeat to Charlotte FC.
The Blues were ahead through Christian Pulisic’s opener before Daniel Rios equalised in the final moments of the match, bagging from the penalty spot.
The match was then decided in a shoot-out, with Conor Gallagher missing his spot-kick as the Blues fell to defeat.
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Chelsea lined up with two near different starting line-ups in either half, with Edouard Mendy the only player keeping his place for the 90 minutes.
Raheem Sterling looked promising on his debut, while fellow new arrival Kalidou Koulibaly was not in the squad.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ross Barkley and Timo Werner were all unavailable after suffering injuries in training, leaving Tuchel with a depleted squad for the clash.
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Speaking to the press after the match, as quoted by football.london, Tuchel has delivered his verdict on the penalty shoot-out defeat.
Discussing his team’s performance, the German said: “In general, I would say we played a good first half but only 80 metres of the pitch.
“The last 20 metres were not good enough. We struggled with our decision making and precision in the last 20 metres. There were not enough chances, not enough clear chances.
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“We allowed two big chances out of nothing, this was the point of the very first. Otherwise I thought we played a very good match.
“Second half it took us 30 minutes to show some quality and then it was maybe only for 10 minutes. So not good, not good at all.”
The head coach continued to praise the performance of Sterling, who registered his first 45 minutes as a Chelsea player.
“I saw four accelerations in the second half I think and they all came from Raheem,” he said.
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“There is not need for major doubts or criticism, but it's never important what the manager has in his head ahead of pre-season.”
Chelsea will now face Arsenal in their final match of their tour of the United States, returning to Florida for their pre-season camp.
The London derby will take place in Orlando in the Florida Cup final on Sunday at 1am (UK).
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Tuchel will be hopeful of having a further addition ahead of the clash, with Sevilla defender Jules Kounde heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The Blues will return to Europe following their clash against the Gunners before facing Udinese at the end of the month in their final match of pre-season.
Topics: Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel, Football
Nick Emms