Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted a lack of sharpness is why his side failed to turn up in the Champions League tie against Juventus.
Chelsea were defeated by the Old Lady in Turin thanks to a Federico Chiesa goal 11 seconds into the second half.
This is Chelsea’s second defeat in five days under Tuchel after a 1-0 loss against Manchester City in the Premier League. Now, Chelsea have had just one shot on target in front of goal in the two games.
Thomas Tuchel Blames Lack of Sharpness for Chelsea Loss to Juventus
Thomas Tuchel “I Didn’t Feel us Fresh Mentally”
Tuchel told reporters in the post-match press conference after the game: “It is maybe a shooting problem because if you don’t shoot, they cannot be on target.
“We found the spaces, it wasn’t easy to get a lot of shots, but there are some chances where it is not so hard to find the target.
“We were lacking the aggression we had [in training] with runs in the last 20 metres. I had the feeling that if it was a 50-50 decision, we went back, we went safe, but we don’t want to play like this.”
The German was also not afraid to hurl criticism at his team after he made all five substitutions to wrestle the game back from Juventus.
He added: “I didn’t feel fresh mentally. I felt totally sharp and ready for training. Today it was not like this. I don’t know why. If you need any proof, after two ball losses in the first half it is the goal after 10 seconds.
“It is not typical for us in our defensive structure to give away a cheap goal. It describes the whole game that this is the decisive goal.”
He blasted their sloppiness when conceding the only goal of the game, seconds after half time also, saying: “We were struggling to find our rhythm and to keep belief in our structure. Once we started to do other things, we made mistakes and that cost us.”.
Juventus Find Feet Under Allegri After Win Over Chelsea
Juventus have made a slow start to life in Serie A under Max Allegri’s second spell at the Old Lady, so their win over the Blues. will come as a welcome boost to his side.
“Sailors always find the way out of a storm. Tonight was a good game against the European champions,” said the 54-year-old after the game.
“Technically we could have played better, but we suffered a bit and we missed a couple of counter-attacks. Two games, six points, zero goals conceded, another step towards qualification, a good step forward.”
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