Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is deeply concerned about the state of his squad. The German saw the Londoners lose to fellow countryman Arsenal (4-0) on Saturday night in Orlando.
“I am far from relaxed,” said Tuchel after the friendly match according to the Bbc. “We just weren’t good enough and not competitive at all. The defeat was deserved. Most worryingly, Arsenal showed a lot more commitment, both physically and mentally. »
At half-time, Arsenal were already leading 2-0 thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Ødegaard. In the second half, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga completed the convincing victory. Hakim Ziyech came on twenty minutes before the end, but he couldn’t ease the pain at Chelsea either.
“We can say that Arsenal played with the strongest formation,” Tuchel said. “They’ve been working with these players for a long time and have only gone from strength to strength. We didn’t play in our strongest squad, but that only explains part of the loss. The other part is disturbing. »
Chelsea have strengthened this summer with striker Raheem Sterling and defender Kalidou Koulibaly, but ‘The Blues’ have also seen some players leave. Romelu Lukaku returned to Internazionale and Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid) and Andreas Christensen (FC Barcelona) left Stamford Bridge on free transfers.
Arsenal were 4-0 too strong for Chelsea in the American Orlando.
Arsenal were 4-0 too strong for Chelsea in the American Orlando.
Photo: Getty Images
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“I cannot guarantee that we are ready for the start of the competition”
The pressure is therefore immediately on Todd Boehly, who is experiencing his first transfer window as owner of Chelsea. The American businessman took over Roman Abramovich’s shares at the end of May. The Russian was forced to sell the club due to the war in Ukraine.
Tuchel hopes to still be able to welcome reinforcements in the short term. “Due to the departure of some quality players, we urgently needed reinforcements. We got two quality players, but we are not competitive yet. Unfortunately, everyone has seen this. »
Chelsea are running out of time to do business as the Premier League starts in two weeks. ‘The Blues’ kick off on August 6 with an away game against Everton. “I cannot guarantee that we are ready for the start of the competition,” stressed Tuchel, who certainly did not want to put his team next to Manchester City and Liverpool.
“Given the last two weeks and the game against Arsenal, we shouldn’t even mention these teams. We were beaten by a team that won’t even play in the Champions League next season. It looks like Arsenal are much more advanced. »
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