“You take those two out and these things happen” -Joe Cole blames Tuchel for two wrong decisions in Zenit draw
Chelsea were held to a 3-3 draw away at Zenit St Petersburg after a late goal from Magomed Ozdoev, as the Blues finished second in Group H, after Juventus beat Malmo 1-0 to top.
However, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel rotated his squad for this game, and former Chelsea star Joe Cole believes that Thomas Tuchel’s decision to drop Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger made the team disjointed and lacked character.
Joe Cole told BT Sport: “It just goes to show if you take Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva out of the team they look disjointed.”
“We haven’t seen it from a Thomas Tuchel side since he arrived. It has looked lackadaisical. You take the leaders out of the team and these things happen.”
The former Chelsea player continued: “It looked disjointed. A turnover in midfield and they were caught. Ross Barkley was caught sloppy [for the second goal], he will be disappointed.
“All of that stems from the two generals not playing, it really upsets the team.
“Thomas Tuchel has gambled and so far it hasn’t paid off.
“He’s been spot on since he got there and put more emphasis on the Leeds game at the weekend but that won’t detract from the fact that he will have been very disappointed.”