Frustrated Thomas Tuchel tears into record signing Romelu Lukaku after Chelsea lose 0-1 to Man City at the Etihad leaving them 13 points behind in title race

 

Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel cut a frustrated and angry figure as he watched his side fall 13 points behind Manchester City in the English premier league titles race after losing 1-0 at the Etihad on Saturday, January 15.

It was Man city talisman, Kevin De Bruyne who made the difference with a beautifully crafted shot from the outside of the box after 70 minutes. City has now won 12 league games in a row and looks strong to defend its Premier League title.

Tuchel has now laid into Chelsea's record signing Romelu Lukaku and the German did not mince his words after Lukaku missed Chelsea's big chance at the start of the second half with their only shot on target.

The £98million striker was dropped by Tuchel against Liverpool earlier this month in the aftermath of an interview in which Lukaku claimed he was 'not happy' at the manager's tactics and he wanted to rejoin Inter Milan.

In the match Chelsea defended well even though they were only beaten by Kevin De Bruyne's second-half strike, but they poor upfront with Lukaku's link up play very ineffective.

After the match, Chelsea fans fumed on social media,  throwing tantrums at Romelu Lukaku after their £98m Belgian striker chose to pass when the goal was facing him.

 

Tuchel,  who frequently shook his head and shouted in outrage when his team surrendered possession said;

'He had many ball losses without pressure and in very promising circumstances,' said Tuchel 

'Of course we want to serve him but he is part of the team and sometimes he needs to do service as well. He had a huge chance so he's included in this.

 

'He is part of the team and the performances up front, especially in the first half, we can do much better and we need to be.

'We had eight or nine attacking transitions in the first half and zero touches in the box. That is a big problem. There was a lack of timing and composure.

'We could have had more chances if we played with better precision.'

The 28-year-old has scored only four times in his last 18 appearances for Chelsea.

 

Tuchel however refused to surrender the title and praised his team's defending at The Etihad.

'We were active and aggressive, we just lost the game in one individual situation,' he said.

'I have no time to lose energy by looking at the table. We play on Tuesday (v Brighton) and we have to be ready.

'If City keep winning they will be champions but we will never give up.'

'We have won games against City with the same performance that we gave today but you can also lose them because of the individual quality of Kevin De Bruyne.

'We did not show the same quality to score the first goal and bring doubts into their game.'

Chelsea remains in second with Liverpool one point behind with two games in hand

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