Chelsea: Tuchel hits out at Lukaku after Man City defeat

The Blues went 13 points behind the Citizens after losing a crucial top-of-the-table battle.

Manchester City defeated Chelsea 1-0 in their Premier League game on Saturday. A stunning strike from Kevin De Bruyne was enough for Pep Guardiola’s side to secure another vital victory in their march toward the league title.

Chelsea managed to keep Man City at bay for most of the game. They even had a few chances to go ahead on counter-attacks. However, the Blues forwards lacked enough composure to convert their chances.

In a post-match interview, Thomas Tuchel criticized Romelu Lukaku for his performance.

“Sometimes he has to do the service,” He said (via Football365).

“He had many ball losses and a huge chance. Of course we want to serve him but he’s part of the team,

“The performance up front in the first half, we can do much, much better.”

Asked whether he was happy with the way his team performed, the German manager again criticized his forwards.

“Given the circumstances, if you look at our back five and how many players we missed, I’m happy with the performance, defensive-wise.

“In the second half we created counter chances. We had one big chance to even go ahead. We lost a tight match, which can happen. It was about individual quality, and we lacked quality up front if I’m honest.

“You have to wait for momentum. We had the same opportunities in the first half, but from eight or nine transition options we had zero touches in the box. The quality, the deliveries and the composure was absolutely not on top level today. You need top level to get half chances and chances, and that’s what we lacked in the first half.

“Our offensive players need to show up more. We need consistency. Chelsea is not a place to hide.”

Chelsea will face Brighton in their next league game on Tuesday before hosting Tottenham five days later.