Chelsea news: We are in a place where you don’t want to be, says Thomas Tuchel

Chelsea started the season on a positive note, registering impressive victories to stay on top of the Premier League table. However, the Blues have endured a difficult phase of late, which has seen them drop from the top spot to the third place. With 37 points to their name from 17 games, Chelsea FC are four points behind leaders Manchester City. Acknowledging the recent slump, manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that the Blues are currently in a difficult position. Tuchel feels that the results have not aligned with the quality of the performances – a situation he says is not easy to find solutions to. In recent weeks, the Stamford Bridge side has dropped points in the Premier League during the home draws against Burnley, Manchester United and Everton despite playing well on those match days.

For Tuchel, it is understandably frustrating as the results are not reflecting the level of performances they are showing. “We are in a place where you don’t want to be,” he began, as per their club’s website. “We have had good performances – sometimes very good – but we don’t have the results for them. If you have bad performances and you don’t have the results, you just focus on the performance. You speak it out loud, get the details better, do whatever needs to be done to make the performance better and increase the possibility of a result.”

‘In this space where we are, it’s tricky’

“If you had a bad performance and you get a good result, even better because you are still in the place where you can focus on the bad performance, but you win and have that atmosphere. In this space where we are, it’s tricky.

“We lost two points against Manchester United because we did a silly mistake. We were clearly the better team. I saw many teams struggle more against West Ham than we did, but we lose with a freak shot in the last minute. And I refuse to analyse the Everton match from the result. We are getting punished for not a lot. It’s hard to accept.”

Tuchel: The last results are not what we expect

Tuchel would undoubtedly like to start getting more consistent results like this team did at the beginning of the season. However, he is refusing to let the final scoreline cloud his judgement when it comes to collective performances. “Maybe you have to admit you don’t have the one solution that fixes the problem, but it can help to speak out and be honest about it,” he acknowledged.

“It seems to be a pattern, but only if you look at the result. If you look only at the results in football, you can be horribly misled. Putting maximum focus on the result because they are not going your way is a big risk. This can lead to frustration and behaviour that makes you play bad. I absolutely don’t want to end up there.

“I encourage the team to go, do it again and believe. Why should we not? The last results are not what we expect, a bit up and down, and maybe we struggle with praise, but it’s not one reason. We are always looking for reasons. We want to have doubts, and have the results be the proof for the performance, but I don’t see big things going wrong.”