Thomas Tuchel criticised his Chelsea players for “not being tough enough” and their “soft defending” after losing 2-1 at Southampton.
Chelsea slumped to their second defeat of the season when Romeo Lavia and Adam Armstrong delivered a stunning first-half turnaround following Raheem Sterling’s opener.
▪️ Two losses in three games
▪️ Transfer targets Anthony Gordon and Wilfried Zaha both score
▪️ Former striker Timo Werner scores a hat trickHow Chelsea fans are feeling 😐 pic.twitter.com/RKUUaZpzn7
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 30, 2022
The Blues have performed inconsistently across their opening five games, taking only seven points which leaves them in eighth and languishing off the top-four pace.
🗣️ “We are not tough enough.”
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel reacts to their 2-1 defeat against Southampton 🗨️pic.twitter.com/qK6M8rfZ1P
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 31, 2022
A combination of suspensions, injuries and players either departing or yet to arrive means the German boss has been left short in certain areas and he started with Hakim Ziyech, someone heavily linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge.
Southampton came from behind to earn their second win of the fledgling Premier League season and move above a Chelsea side lacking cohesion and a cutting edge at St Mary’s.
Raheem Sterling is the Blues’ top scorer and got Thomas Tuchel’s side off to a promising start with his third goal in two games thanks to a calm swivel and finish in the 23rd minute.
But another former Manchester City player levelled moments later, with Romeo Lavia firing a superb effort beyond Edouard Mendy after Chelsea failed to properly clear a corner.
From then on Southampton were the better side and scored what proved to be the winner before the break, when Romain Perraud picked out Adam Armstrong and his effort deflected off Kalidou Koulibaly and into the net.
