Chelsea's midfield took another damaging hit against Southampton. Not only did the makeshift pivot of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, not a natural six, and Jorginho lose control of the game after going ahead, Tuchel was then left with injury concerns to attend to as well.
Loftus-Cheek left the field at halftime and didn't return to action with heavy bandaging and ice seen on his knee during the second 45. Tuchel then used Mateo Kovacic in his place despite not being fit enough for more than 20 minutes. He would play all of the second period. Meanwhile, Jorginho struggled to impact the game positively for Chelsea, being overran and technically limited.
As Tuchel left the eager faces of Carney Chukwuemeka and Billy Gilmour, drafted in to sit on the bench, on the sidelines for the entirety and then said he had no more midfielders, the stance was clear. He wants players he can trust readily, and though Gilmour and Chukwuemeka have done nothing to suggest they can't be trusted, Tuchel is heavily reliant on experience to get himself through this period.
