Joe Cole suggested it was"‘as poor a performance" he has seen Chelsea play under Thomas Tuchel following the Blues’ abject 2-1 defeat to Southampton at St Mary’s.
After the loss on Tuesday night, the former Blues midfielder took aim at Tuchel's side and declared they had "no answers" for the overwhelming energy and enthusiasm of Southampton. The German manager said Chelsea’s defending was too soft, and Cole certainly agreed with his assessment.
England international Raheem Sterling scored his third goal of the season to put the visitors ahead before Romeo Lavia - the first Premier League goalscorer born in the year 2004 - levelled. Adam Armstrong scored the winner on the stroke of half time as the Saints held on to take all three points.
And after the final whistle, the former Blues star admitted it was the worst performance he has seen under Tuchel, who led the club to Champions League glory at the end of the 2020-21 season.
“They had no answers,” Cole told BT Sport . “Southampton’s energy was outstanding, so many players outstanding.
“Chelsea started with a back four which was different and they looked off it with unforced errors and no cohesion. Kai Havertz didn’t look comfortable.
“Thomas Tuchel has a lot of questions to answer, there will be a lot of comings and goings before Thursday but it was as poor a performance as I’ve seen under Tuchel. I can’t remember a chance in the second half. A very disappointing night.”
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Cole - who played for Chelsea between 2003 and 2010, winning three Premier League titles - led the criticism of the Blues and he was certainly not alone. Former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas pointed out the errors of Tuchel’s team but was generally quick to highlight how impressive Southampton were impressive.
Jenas said: “I think Thomas Tuchel will be baffled. They were brilliant against Spurs, brilliant against Leicester and then they turn up today and they’re not at the races.
“Whatever he was searching for wasn’t there but this night is about Southampton and how brilliant they were. Ralph Hasenhuttl deserves a lot of credit.
“I said before you need a team like Chelsea not to be at it to have a chance and Southampton had that. But you have to admire how Ralph Hasenhuttl set his team out, it maybe cost them the first goal but it was outstanding, every point so far they’ve had to come from behind and they’ve done it again, showing character and resilience.”
Southampton bounced back from their home weekend defeat to Manchester United on Saturday after an impressive Bruno Fernandes volley. The Saints are next in action away at Wolves at Molineux, while Chelsea - who had defeated Leicester 2-1 on the weekend - will host West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
