Tuchel explained why he leaves the three Chelsea players out of his line-up and revealed the only thing they can do now.
Christian Pulisic, Emerson, and Tammy Abraham have ‘to keep on fighting’, says Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, who insists ‘there is no other way’ due to the competition for places.
The Blues trio was again missing from the line-up in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Everton. Only Pulisic made the bench. The American, who has started in just one of Tuchel’s 11 games in charge so far, replaced Timo Werner as a substitute during injury-time.
Pulisic has only logged 134 out of a possible 810 minutes in the league under Tuchel. pic.twitter.com/HLfBdVaIcu
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 8, 2021
In fact, Pulisic’s only start under his former Borussia Dortmund boss was in an FA Cup fifth-round match against Championship side Barnsley last month.
“Maybe Christian’s problem is I know from Dortmund how strong he is from the bench,” said Tuchel in his post-match conference at Stamford Bridge.
“I think he started only in the cup game and in the end that’s my responsibility and my fault. It’s a bit unfair because I know what an impact he can have in 20 or 30 minutes.
“He was a bit unlucky in the last games, but there’s no lack of trust or quality. He just has to be a bit patient.”
What about Abraham and Emerson?
Emerson hasn’t featured in a single Premier League game since Tuchel became manager. The full-back has only played once under the German, the FA Cup game against Barnsley.
The biggest surprise, though, is perhaps Abraham. The club’s top-scorer, a favorite of former manager Frank Lampard, has made the line-up just twice in Tuchel’s 11 games and is yet to complete a full 90-minute match.
Abraham hasn’t played for Chelsea since the 1-1 draw with Southampton on February 20.
“We also have another guy I would love to mention which is Emerson, who suffers from bad decisions against him from me,” continued Tuchel.
“He does not play but he is an amazing guy who trains at the highest levels and never lets the team down with his mentality.
‘This was a super hard decision today to have him out of the squad and the same with Tammy [Abraham].
“It tells us we are a strong group and the guys just have to keep on fighting.”
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