EPL: Tuchel faults defenders after defeat to Southampton

It has been a poor start to the season for Chelsea.

Chelsea have now dropped eight points after just five games, and the Blues have lost back to back away games against Leeds United and Southampton.

Thomas Tuchel has again slammed the team’s defending, claiming that his players were soft at the back.

“We don’t have the answer to every question now so quickly after the match, but obviously we were not tough enough to win these matches away,” he said at his post-match press conference.

“It’s a bit the same story as against Leeds. In Leeds we thought the problem was that we did not score in the first 20 or 25 minutes, and then they pushed us off balance with two goals in two minutes and we could not find any answers.

“Today we scored, so obviously everything was OK but one set-piece again, one sloppy defending again and we were off balance and today we did not react to it.

“We were lucky not to concede a third goal in the beginning of the second half. We were not tough enough as a team to react or push it over the line for us, that’s how I see it.”

He added: “Soft, soft, soft defending. There is no need to give shots away. Just toughen up as a team and show a different mentality.”