Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel has showered encomiums on his players for their battling display against Liverpool at Anfield.
The game ended 1-1 after Kai Havertz gave Chelsea the lead with a sublime header.
Reece James was sent off on the stroke of halftime after being adjudged to have used his hand to stop the ball from going in and the referee also awarded Liverpool a penalty.
Mohammed Salah scored from the spot to restore parity for Liverpool to end the first half 1-1.
“Fantastic, I saw a strong first half, a strong Liverpool side. We were very, very good, scored the first goal, had a big chance for the second goal with Mason Mount,” said Tuchel.
“But the pressure was high, the quality from Liverpool, the energy was high. At some point you have to suffer, this is what we did and then in the last second (before halftime) we concede a penalty and a red card,” he added.
“At halftime we have to substitute Kante due to injury. Suddenly the world is upside down,” he added.
“I cannot praise the team enough. I do not know if there is a harder stadium than City and Anfield to go one man down.
“Because of Liverpool’s quality and energy, for the first 10 minutes (after the break) it felt like it was never going to end
“Then, the next half an hour it was like maybe we will create a chance and score one and make it harder for them.
“For the last five minutes hopefully we survive and take a well-deserved point. Our resilience and team-work was absolutely fantastic.
“With pure will, we took the heat out of the game. That was team effort at its very best,” he added.
Add Comment