Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O'Hara has called out Thomas Tuchel for the excuses he made following Chelsea's 3-0 loss to Leeds United. The Blues boss said that the cause for defeat at Elland Road stemmed from the club's mode of travel to Yorkshire from west London.
Tuchel and his coaching staff were left no choice but to take a coach to Leeds, while the players took a plane. And, speaking to the press after the game, the 48-year-old insisted that his team were the better side but claimed that travel played a factor into their Chelsea's troubles.
"Everything that can go wrong, did go wrong," Tuchel said. "It started yesterday. We had no plane to arrive so we came on the bus. The players could fly but for the coaching staff it was a long ride on the bus.
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"It continued today," he added, speaking on Sunday. "We lost the game in the first 20 minutes, where we were clearly better and had huge chances. A lot of touches in the box but we miss the target and do not take what we deserve. We then stopped doing what we were doing good and it was even for 15 minutes and in those we gave two presents.
"We were clearly the better team. They do what they do. I don't see that a set-piece and own goal [Edouard Mendy's mistake] are due to the style. They are mistakes.
"If we give goals away like this that are totally unnecessary and when we are totally in charge we cannot win football matches. We tried second-half and I am disappointed we lost that half as well. They made the maximum of their half-chances and we did not."
It's fair to say that O'Hara was not a fan of Tuchel's 'excuses'. Speaking on talkSPORT, as quoted by TBR, the 35-year-old said that Leeds - and travelling fans - deserve more respect.
"Tuchel was coming out after the game and making excuses," O'Hara said. "Some about having to get a bus and saying they were the better team and that Leeds weren’t a better side than them.
"Leeds were way better than Chelsea. Chelsea weren’t good enough, give credit where it’s due. Leeds were fantastic. Outran them in every department.
"So the players flew. The coaching staff had to get a bus. Oh poor them. The excuses. Try listening to the fans and all the people that have to do these eight-hour shifts. Come on, get in the real world Thomas. Stop making excuses."
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