Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has hailed Liverpool as the best attacking side in Europe after their League Cup win over Chelsea, but was left disappointed with the decision to disallow an extra-time goal from Romelu Lukaku.
The Reds won 11-10 on penalties with substitute Kepa missing the decisive spot-kick, having controversially been brought on in place of Edouard Mendy at the end of extra-time.
Joel Matip had a header disallowed in normal time after Mendy had misjudged the flight of the ball, while Lukaku’s chalked off effort was one of three goals ruled out for Chelsea over the 120 minutes.
And when speaking to reporters after the final whistle, Tuchel praised Liverpool but admitted he was bemused at why Lukaku’s goal hadn’t been a winner.
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“We have to accept the quality of the opponent,” he said. “This is maybe the most dangerous attacking side in Europe at the moment and they are full of individual quality and playing such a high rhythm.
“Defending like this and playing like this on this level made me very proud today. I saw a brilliant match of football, all 120 minutes, and we played a huge part in it.
“I have a feeling that we created a bit more. We were a bit more there but maybe that’s subjective. This game could have easily could have gone either way. You need a bit of luck, you need a bit of momentum to win it.
“If you look at the line that is drawn on the goal from Romelu, it is a bit of a weird line, I have to say. Where it’s drawn and to then make the decision that it is offside but that’s it.
“We can’t have any regrets. I’m very proud of the performance. I told the guys we shouldn’t lose sleep about this.
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“It was an entertaining match of football, full of intensity, and I’m very, very happy to have had the chance to be part of it. It was excellent.”
And Tuchel stood by his decision to bring on Kepa for Mendy, who had enjoyed an excellent game against Liverpool with a stunning double-save from Naby Keita and Sadio Mane a particular highlight, despite the Spaniard missing the decisive penalty.
“You think we do this and don’t talk to the players before?,” the German said. “The players know and we did it before.
“It’s a nice subject for you to make headlines. Mistakes happen. I make mistakes, Edouard made a big mistake and we almost got punished with a decisive goal.
“If you want to blame someone, blame me. Today it took 11 penalties to find a winner. There are no regrets.”
