“Weren’t at their very best” – Joe Cole names 2 Chelsea players who failed to impress against Manchester City

Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has slammed the efforts of Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech during Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat away to Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s City now hold a massive 13-point gap at the head of the table thanks to Kevin De Bruyne’s second-half goal at the Etihad Stadium.

After the match, Cole pointed out that both Pulisic and Ziyech "weren’t at their very best" in the crunch tie against the league leaders. Cole also drew comparisons to Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to City last month.

Speaking on BT Sport, he said:

"The difference between the Arsenal performance and Chelsea performance was the performances of Martinelli and Saka in the Arsenal game. On them transitions, being able to get the ball, drive and do something."

He added:

"Today, Pulisic and Ziyech weren’t at their very best and I think when you talk about the structure of the team, that’s where Chelsea were lacking a bit today."

He further highlighted both player's inability to "find the right pass". He said:

"When they got the ball in midfield, Kovacic made some excellent challenges and won the ball, then it went to Pulisic and Ziyech and they didn’t find the right pass. You have days like that sometimes as a No.10, I’ve had plenty of them myself."

Thomas Tuchel's side created very little in the game and what little was created was squandered by Romelu Lukaku. The Blues spurned a golden opportunity in the second half with Lukaku drawing a block from Ederson.

Tuchel opted to play Pulisic and Ziyech behind Lukaku at the expense of Mason Mount and the Blues legend clearly feels the selection did not pay off.

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Thomas Tuchel praises Chelsea defenders, slams attackers after Manchester City title clash

Antonio Rudiger and Kevin de Bruyne in action

Thomas Tuchel had much to be upset about after his side's sub-par performance against Manchester City. However, he focused much of his annoyance onto his attacking players, while praising the Blues defense.

Noting that he was happy with defensive performances, the German tactician called on his attackers to do better. He said:

"Given the circumstances, if you look at our back five and how many players we missed, I’m happy with the performance, defensive-wise... Our offensive players need to show up more. We need consistency. Chelsea is not a place to hide."