Thomas Tuchel reveals he is unlikely to drop Chelsea ace Edouard Mendy despite error against West Ham
Speaking to beIN SPORTS, as quoted by Metro, after the game, Thomas Tuchel revealed that he is unlikely to drop Chelsea ace Edouard Mendy for the coming games despite his mistake against West Ham.
The Blues lost their first London derby of the season against the Hammers on Saturday. The game was end to end, but individual mistakes cost us the game on the day. The first goal, in particular, was a massive mistake by both Jorginho and Mendy.
The Italian put the Senegalese under pressure with a tame pass, and the goalkeeper tried to clear the ball instead of sending it out of play. In doing so, he conceded a penalty to Jarrow Bowen. Manuel Lanzini obliged with gratitude and equalized 10 minutes after Thiago Silva’s opener.
However, Mendy was partially at fault for the third goal as well. He was caught napping on his near post as Arthur Masuaku’s cross-turned-shot sneaked into the net. Thomas Tuchel was asked after the game whether he would drop the shot-stopper after his error. The German shook his head and responded:
‘I don’t think so.’
The gaffer also claimed that the personal errors have cost us crucial points in the past week.
‘Five [goals conceded] in three [games] is not the problem, three in one game is the problem. The problem is the goal we conceded against Man United was a big mistake by ourselves, we gave the goal against Watford away by a big, big mistake. Today was the same.’
The right decision?
Mendy has been brilliant for us this season. In fact, his shot-stopping abilities secured three points for us against Brentford in October. Errors are bound to happen, and they could have happened to anybody. Kepa Arrizabalaga will more than vouch for that.
We needed to win, but such slip-ups are going to happen to every title contender this season. Aymeric Laporte has been sent off for Man City this season while West Ham also defeated Liverpool last month.
Tuchel likes to be a perfectionist, courtesy of which his annoyance with mistakes is understandable. However, the team that makes the least mistakes this season is going to lift the trophy in May.
More Chelsea News
- Rio Ferdinand criticizes Edouard Mendy for giving away easy penalty in panic situation vs West Ham United
- Chelsea suffer Kai Havertz injury blow against West Ham United
- Thomas Tuchel blames individual mistakes for Chelsea defeat against West Ham
This is a slight hiccup, and the Blues need to bounce back next weekend. The 29-year-old needs to be back to his confident self and command the team from the back. We are only two points off the top, and it might not be long before we take the lead again.
