Thomas Tuchel still appeared lost for answers when trying to explain Wednesday's collapse against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. During the post-match media duties following the 4-2 loss, the German appeared to blame the quality of the pitch, something he repeated in Friday's press conference before Sunday afternoon's meeting with West Ham.
"I don't know, I am not a specialist on it. We are looking at the highest level in every department. I know everybody is trying hard," Tuchel began. "I said it because the first goal was a mistake from Andreas (Christensen), but the mistake was because of a funny bounce of the ball, and we had more of them in the game. It was a bit awkward to play and calculate the speed and bounce of the ball."
Blaming the quality of the turf feels like a classic diversion tactic for the harsh reality of Chelsea's recent home form, which has seen the Blues concede 11 goals in three games against Brentford, Real Madrid and Arsenal. What is quite bizarre is that in the three games sandwiched between those disasters, Chelsea has scored the exact same amount away from home.
