Tuchel gives honest verdict on Azpilicueta’s clash with Chelsea fan

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel empathises with a fan who clashed with César Azpilicueta after Arsenal loss

Speaking in the post-match press conference, as quoted by The Guardian, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that he ‘understands’ the fan’s emotion when he argued with Blues captain César Azpilicueta. 

The West Londoners lost by a 4-2 scoreline against bitter rivals Arsenal in a game that now makes the top four race one to worry about for the Blues. After Eddie Nketiah scored Arsenal’s opening goal, Chelsea equalized through Timo Werner’s deflected goal.

With the game now at 2-2, courtesy of Azpi’s equalizer after Emile Smith-Rowe put the Gunners in the lead, the Spaniard’s misplaced pass led to Nketiah’s second on the night. The defenders failed to clear the ball inside the box but it was the ex-Marseille star’s misplaced pass that put our team in jeopardy, to begin with.

After the game reached a 3-2 scoreline, César Azpilicueta’s challenge on Bukayo Saka in the penalty box was found illegal, resulting in a penalty kick that the Gunners youngster converted to secure a 4-2 win. 

The Spaniard was seen arguing and gesturing furiously at a Chelsea supporter after the game ended. When asked about the clash in the post-match conference, the German manager revealed that he wasn’t part of the incident. He even added that he realised the emotions that sparked such a response from the Chelsea fan.      

“I was not part of it; I saw it, but, honestly, I can also understand the fan.” 

Tuchel empathizes with the fan

The manager later criticised Chelsea players’ mistakes and suggested that they can not win ‘football games’ if they continue such errors. 

Our loss against Real Madrid last week in the Champions League quarter-final was a massive disappointment for the fans. But, fans’ anger and frustrations only increased after the loss against city rivals Arsenal. 

The Blues fans rely heavily on their captain, César Azpilicueta, and his mistake didn’t go unnoticed by those inside the Bridge. But players must understand that they have to rise above all this and even if they let the words of the fans get to them, there is a healthier way to address it.

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Players are paid weekly wages that some struggle to earn over the course of a whole year. Fans spend money out of their pockets to travel and buy tickets and it is understandable that they would have things to say.

Perhaps both parties could have acted better here. The defeat was surely as frustrating for Azpilicueta as it was for the fan and even his reaction, to some extent, cannot be fully condemned. This looks like an incident we can forget in the past given there have been no consequences after it happened.