The Blues suffered a 4-2 defeat to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
Thomas Tuchel hates losing but he was forced to cut a forlorn figure on the bench as Chelsea succumbed to a disappointing 4-2 defeat to Arsenal.
The German manager had spoken extensively about how important Wednesday’s game was and called on his players not to take anything for granted. If his pre-match rally was inspiring, the players did the exact opposite when the match started.
The Blues were largely second-best against Arsenal and appeared jaded from the get-go. The Gunners, who needed the result to boost their chances of finishing in the top four of the Premier League, took full advantage of Chelsea’s lethargy and punished them for it in both halves.
Tuchel’s men battered at home
A trait of Chelsea under Tuchel is that they are very competitive. Even in matches where they lose, they usually play with character and give their opponents a run for their money.
That wasn’t the case against Arsenal. The Blues were largely passive and only played with intensity when they fell behind.
This approach seemed to work for them in the first half when Timo Werner and Cesar Azpilicueta restored parity after goals from Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe gave Arsenal the lead twice.
However, playing catchup has never been sustainable. The Blues never recovered after going 3-2 down early in the second half following some questionable defending.
Bukayo Saka then converted a late penalty to seal an impressive victory for the visitors. Chelsea were utterly poor, with their performance ravaged by defensive mistakes. They deserved to drop three points after such an insipid display.
Blues’ lack of depth hurts them
The main reason why Chelsea have been unable to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title is due to the Blues’ lack of squad depth.
While Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp can afford to rest some players and still field a strong starting line-up, Tuchel doesn’t have that luxury.
The Blues boss was without some of his key players for the game against Arsenal. He rested the tired Kai Havertz while Mateo Kovacic and Antonio Rudiger missed out through injury.
Their replacements, though, just weren’t good enough. Malang Sarr and Andreas Christensen were all over the place and Romelu Lukaku failed to provide half of Havertz’s usual spirited output.
Clearly, Chelsea lacked motivation for the game against Arsenal. However, their lack of squad depth has been a problem since the start of the season and it once again hurt the Blues.
