Chelsea stars clash in training ground row - Reports

According to reports, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel dismissed defender Antonio Rudiger from training yesterday after the German clashed with goalkeeper Kepa Arizzabalaga.

Tuchel suffered his first loss as Chelsea manager against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. The German tactician, who called for calm after the shock defeat, had to intervene and stop things from boiling over between Rudiger and Kepa on the training ground. Rudiger was eventually sent out of the training session 5 minutes early.

Thomas Tuchel sent Antonio Rudiger in from training on Sunday after the defender was involved in a bust-up with Kepa Arrizabalaga less than 24 hours after the Chelsea head coach had warned his players not to lose their heads following their 5-2 loss to West Brom.- @Matt_Law_DT pic.twitter.com/2rNIlfMMD5

— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) April 4, 2021

The clash reportedly occurred after Rudiger put in a mistimed challenge on Chelsea shot-stopper Kepa. The pair indulged in some pushing and shoving before teammates pulled them apart.

Rudiger and Kepa, who were both not involved in the loss against West Brom, were not the only Chelsea teammates to clash following Saturday's loss. Reports from The Telegraph suggest that Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta also had a heated argument with Reece James in the dressing room after the 5-2 loss to West Brom.

Chelsea are still fourth in the Premier League table and Thomas Tuchel will have to ensure that his squad remains focused ahead of a crucial run of fixtures.

Thomas Tuchel takes the blame for Chelsea's loss against West Brom

Mason Mount was left on the bench

Tuchel made some interesting changes to the Chelsea line-up for Saturday's game. Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell were left out of the team while Thiago Silva was brought back into the side. Tuchel spoke about the changes and took complete responsibility for the defeat.

Speaking to reporters after the loss, he said:

"You never know what would have happened if you chose differently. This is my responsibility, we are very disappointed because we hate to lose. I went for this selection because of an excellent training session yesterday. I trusted this line-up and I think the line-up was strong enough for this game.

Thomas Tuchel’s unbeaten start as Chelsea manager was 14 games long. The longest unbeaten start by a manager in the club’s history. One loss doesn’t change that. Excellent start overall, time to bounce back. pic.twitter.com/8T0L3jAeyo

— LDN (@LDNFootbalI) April 3, 2021

When asked why Chelsea failed to pick up three points against West Brom, Tuchel said:

"We were rusty, we were sloppy in the build-up in our own half and made many, many unforced errors. We didn't adapt under pressure. We gave the ball away easily, which led to a red card and that cost us the game today.

"There is absolutely no need to concede five goals if you're one man down with our quality. But our defending was not of the quality it should be. It is now hard to accept but there is no other solution than to accept it and to move forward," Tuchel added.

With a crucial UEFA Champions League encounter coming up against Porto, Chelsea will need to recover from their shock 5-2 loss to West Brom and perform as a unit on Wednesday night.