Tuchel focusing on solutions, not problems

Thomas Tuchel has moved to ease some of the pressure on his players after back-to-back defeats, choosing to react calmly and positively, to encourage and cajole rather than berate and bully. He must’ve been watching Ted Lasso.

More importantly, Tuchel’s focusing on finding solutions rather then wallowing in our problems. That is, after all, the only way to actually get past a problem.

“It feels like maybe we are carrying a bit of expectation and a bit of weight on our shoulders, perhaps on our own expectations.

“So yeah, somebody told me years ago if players look like this then you can threaten them or calm them down. 99 per cent of the cases it is better to calm them down and I will never forget that. The tendency is to keep the players calm, trust in what we do and what we are, support the group and then the players support each other and their way out.

“[We] should focus on the solutions, not the problems because they are not too big. The results are not what we expect but we still have trust in ourselves.”

Chelsea failed to find solutions against a high-pressing Manchester City side, then failed to find solutions against a counter-attacking Juventus side. Two very different looks faced, with similar outcomes.

Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

That’s part preparation and part execution, but Tuchel only has control over the former. His solutions arrive in training, to then hopeful enable the players to find their solutions during the game.

“[Southampton play] with high pressure, in general you need to be aware of it, you don’t have time to think when you are on the ball. We need to anticipate the situations, be very good with timing and distances of our passing to escape the pressure in our half.

“There are various possibilities, perhaps long ball as well but then you need to have good position before. I won’t talk about it in details but the most important is that we are away but it is important that we don’t judge teams by their names, their rankings or their previous results. We talk about what we se in their behaviour and we need to be aware of an aggressive and intense team in our half.

“[We] want to also have the answer to the pressing pressing from Southampton with our own counter pressing to give them a taste of their own medicine.”

-Thomas Tuchel; source: Football.London

The most important part of any defeat is how we respond to it afterwards. We arrived in Turin with good intentions, but were unsuccessful in following through. Saturday is another chance, and perhaps an even more important one.