Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has slammed his side's performance after their shock defeat against Dinamo Zagreb in a Champions League clash on Tuesday. The German tactician did not mince words while speaking about the loss as he answered post-match questions from the press.
When asked if he was angry with himself following the defeat, the Blues manager responded in the affirmative and explained (via Football.London):
"Because I didn’t see it coming. Obviously, I was in the wrong movie. I did not see that coming. I thought that the last game helped us. I thought we showed a reaction in a very difficult moment against West Ham, got the reaction, got the result in the moments when you need a bit of luck in the situation we were in.
"We had good training sessions, I thought the team was prepared, I thought we know what this is all about. I didn’t see it coming, that’s why I’m angry on myself."
Back in May, Chelsea surrendered a two-goal lead to West Ham, and the angry manager demanded that the squad show up for training the day after. Asked if he would give them a day off after Tuesday night's debacle against Dinamo Zagreb, which saw the Blues fail to score, Tuchel responded:
"There is no day off. There is no day off in the planning and there cannot be a day off in the moment."
This defeat follows Chelsea's current sub-par run of form, which has seen the side win just two games in their last five Premier League matches. It has also not helped that the side have been unable to keep the goals out, conceding nine in those five games.
Chelsea lose their opening Champions League clash against Dinamo Zagreb
It was a rather sordid affair for the Blues after their loss to the Croatian outfit on Tuesday. Currently, the London club sit at the bottom of Group E in the Champions League, and if they fail to improve their performances, it could potentially lead to an early exit.
While they managed the lion's share of possession against their tough opponents, it did not help the Blues cement the game in their favor. Against the run of play in the 13th minute, Zagreb won the ball, drove into the area, and flicked it past Kepa Arrizabalaga and into the goal.
Chelsea controlled the entire game, spending most of the 90 minutes in the opposition half, but to no avail. Their inability to create enough chances and overwhelm their opponents cost them the game eventually.