Chelsea were ‘disappointed’ with the draw at Leeds United, as Thomas Tuchel and Ben Chilwell criticized the state of the pitch at Elland Road.
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Tuchel, who is now 12 games unbeaten to start his time in charge of Chelsea, revealed his players were upset in the dressing room and said ‘this is a good sign.’
Chelsea looked the more dangerous of the two teams but did have Edouard Mendy to thank as he twice made fine stops to secure a point on the road.
Tuchel wasn’t happy with the condition of the newly-laid pitch at Elland Road, which has been a problem for many weeks, but wasn’t critical of his players as they slipped up (quite literally) in their top four push.
“It is super hard to play the pitch. Very slippery and bouncy,” Tuchel told BT Sport. “We had a couple of chances to go 1-0 ahead but they trouble you and pressure you. You need to make a goal for belief. Sometimes it is like this. I don’t want to be too harsh. As long as we have chances and touches in the box and don’t concede too many chances the results will be there. We need to accept this.”
Tuchel added to the BBC that ‘it was not so nice to play and the pitch is not in good condition - this is a factor’ and ‘on a pitch like this against a team like Leeds who put a lot of pressure on you, we created good attacks and generally I am happy with the performance but we want to win.’
Players have their say on pitch, top four push
Left back Ben Chilwell carried on with the pitch bashing and said ‘it wasn’t the best pitch for both teams to play on.’
Leeds’ players have also complained about the new pitch in recent weeks, as it has hampered their pressing and passing style under Marcelo Bielsa.
Chilwell also said Chelsea’s players were upset to drop points as the battle to finish in the top four is so tight heading into the final nine games of the season.
Chelsea boss Tuchel rotated his team around, seemingly with one eye on the UEFA Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid in midweek, and the Blues lacked creativity in the final third.
That has been a reoccurring problem for Chelsea since Tuchel took charge as they’ve conceded just twice in his 12 games, but scored just 13 times.
Perhaps you can’t blame the pitch for Chelsea’s lackluster attacking display.
