Bankrupt against cellar child: Tuchel’s series ends with bad gossip


Broke against basement child
Tuchel’s series ends with bad gossip

This is a surprising setback in the fight for a Champions League place: Chelsea loses significantly against relegation candidate West Brom. Even problem child Timo Werner cannot advertise himself again. A long series ends with defeat.

Thomas Tuchel first had to digest the fact that his first defeat with Chelsea had become such a severe embarrassment in the football Premier League. “I didn’t see it coming,” he said, visibly confused after the 2: 5 (1: 2) home bankruptcy against relegation candidate West Bromwich Albion. “Anything that could go wrong went wrong according to the red card.” After a dismissal for Thiago Silva, who saw yellow-red after 29 minutes for repeated fouls, Chelsea fell apart.

Across all competitions, Tuchel’s team had previously not lost 14 games. In the Premier League, the Blues had not conceded a goal in five home games – now there were five in one afternoon. “Every shot from them was a goal,” complained the 47-year-old Tuchel, who was only named “Coach of the Month” of the Premier League on Friday, at the BT Sport broadcaster. “That was clearly not our day today.”

The former Dortmund striker Christian Pulisic (27th) had the hosts, where Timo Werner started in the storm center, initially shot into the lead after a good start. But only two minutes later, Silva flew off the field. That changed the game. “We couldn’t handle the situation,” admitted Tuchel. “I do not know why.”

“It’s hard to digest”

In stoppage time of the first half, ex-Nuremberg Matheus Pereira (45th + 2 / 45th + 4) turned the game at Stamford Bridge with a double. After the half-time break Callum Robinson (63.) and Mbaye Diagne (68.) increased for the guests from West Bromwich. “We were careless and made huge mistakes again and again,” complained Tuchel, who described the performance of his decimated team as “atypical”. “We were punished harshly and it’s hard to digest.”

The fast backlash to Diagnes hit by Mason Mount (71.) – after a presentation by Werner – did not bring the hoped-for momentum and certainly not the turning point. Shortly before the final whistle, the Blues even had to accept another goal from Robinson (90 + 1). “An unbelievable day,” enthused Robinson at BT Sport. “Ten men or not, they are of good quality.”

The blatant home defeat is a major setback for Chelsea in the fight for the Champions League places, as the Londoners are threatened with being pushed out of fourth place in the course of the 30th matchday. Local rivals Tottenham Hotspur (Sunday in Newcastle) and West Ham United (Monday in Wolverhampton) could overtake the Blues with away wins. The cheering penultimate West Brom was still seven points behind the rescue bank after the surprise victory.

.