Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has called out his players after an awful display against American club Charlotte FC. The Blues played their third pre-season game last night but failed to win it in a penalty shootout. According to the German, there will get punished again if they keep on missing chances.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s new player Raheem Sterling finally got to play his first game for the Blues as they played against Charlotte FC on the second match of their three-game US tour. However, the West London club failed to win in Queens City as they lost 5-3 in a penalty shootout.
Raheem Sterling who joined Chelsea this month from Man City on a £47 million deal scored his spot kick but a miss from Conor Gallagher gave Charlotte FC the win. The 5-3 win is currently Charlotte FC’s biggest win in this short history as they celebrated in front of over 52,673 supporters.
American Christian Pulisic gave the visitors a first-half lead with a home-turf chip but it was not enough to secure the win for Chelsea.
Manager Thomas Tuchel was pleased with what he saw from Sterling, who entered the game at halftime, but was blunt in his assessment of the night’s performance in North Carolina.
‘I didn’t see it today,’ he said when asked if the post-interval front three of Sterling, Kai Havertz, and Mason Mount would be the one he takes into the Premier League season. ‘So, it doesn’t matter what I have in my mind.
Raheem Sterling had his first feel in a Chelsea shirt as Chelsea drew 1-1 to Charlotte FC in America and lost 5-3 on penalties.
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Pulisic with the Chelsea goal to score on his home country soil.
Conor Gallagher also got some minutes on his return on loan from Crystal Palace pic.twitter.com/UGdMSbz0Wi
‘All that matters what we see on the pitch. And I saw four accelerations in the second half, and they all came from Raheem. This is what he delivers.’
Although the Blues has more ball possession than their opponent, they were wasteful in the game which contributed to the loss. Chelsea’s new owner Todd Boehly was also available to watch the match alongside his co-owner Behdad Eghbali.
Their head coach Thomas Tuchel was unimpressed with his players performance last night as he said that they will still get punished if they continue wasting opportunities. He added that such things happen when you keep your opponents alive and anything can happen in football. However, Conor Gallagher was not the only Chelsea player to miss his spot kick as Mount and Ben Chilwell also missed theirs.
Thomas Tuchel has also revealed that he’s surprised at what Timo Werner said during his last interview. Recall that the winger disclosed that he will be happy to play anywhere as his future at Stamford Bridge is still uncertain. But according to Thomas Tuchel, Timo Werner must show his quality in order to earn a place in the starting XI.
Meanwhile, the West London club will go back to their Orlando training camp, to prepare ahead of their last pre-season game against Arsenal on Saturday night.
