Chelsea's pre-season hasn't gone smoothly. Things might have been scraping by and the squad getting away with some average preparation in America before playing Arsenal, but an ugly head reared itself during a torrid 90 minutes in Florida.
The Blues were uncovered and left isolated against the Gunners, they were exposed and left bare. Only structural and tactical weaknesses remained. Thomas Tuchel had to deal with the aftermath.
His honest post-match interview was, whilst refreshing in some senses, a window to a dark past in which Jose Mourinho has made similar damning comments before the eve of a new season has even arrived. It felt like a pleading message from Tuchel, a man who has been through so much in the last seven months but rarely lets down his guard.
