Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount revealed Thomas Tuchel was a quiet presence in the dressing room after the defeat which came just 12 hours prior to his sacking.
Tuchel was ismissed by owner Todd Boehly on Wednesday morning following a 1-0 defeat by Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. The West London club spent more than any other Premier League side in the summer transfer window - roughly £250million - but sit outside the top four after losing two of their first six games.
Mount was part of the team which lost 1-0 in Croatia, with the 2021 European champions making a nightmare start in their efforts to reclaim the trophy. The England midfielder's comments have shed some light on the mood in the dressing room in what proved to be Tuchel's final post-match debrief with his players.
"[Tuchel] didn’t say too much after the game, obviously it’s very raw at the moment," Mount told BT Sport. "We need to look at the game and analyse. [The fans] need to stick with us and we’ll keep going, keep trying our hardest to stick at it."
Mislav Orsic put Dinamo in front in the first half and Chelsea were unable to find a way back into the game at Stadion Maksimir. It was only the second time Tuchel lost an away European match with Chelsea, after a 1-0 loss to Juventus in last season's group stage.
"It’s a massive disappointment," Mount said of the result, as reported by club media. "We know how big this competition is and how much it means to us and what we’ve done in it over the last two years, so to start like this is disappointing.
"But it’s not over and it’s all about our reaction now going forward. The next few games are massive and we have a home game next in this competition, so we need to turn it around and that’s on us."
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"On behalf of everyone at Chelsea FC, the club would like to place on record its gratitude to Thomas and his staff for all their efforts during their time with the club," a Chelsea statement announcing the sacking read. "Thomas will rightly have a place in Chelsea’s history after winning the Champions League, the Super Cup and Club World Cup in his time here.
"As the new ownership group reaches 100 days since taking over the Club, and as it continues its hard work to take the club forward, the new owners believe it is the right time to make this transition."
A number of candidates have already emerged as a potential successor to the former Paris Saint-Germain manager. Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino are among the favourites, with the latter a free agent after leaving PSG this summer.
"I am angry with myself, I am angry about the performance," Tuchel said after the game in Croatia. "This is a huge under-performance from all of us.
"It's not precise enough, it's not clinical enough, not aggressive enough. It is not determined enough. It is not enough individually, it is not enough as a team and that is why we lose this game today."
Chelsea's fixtures are coming thick and fast, with the next permanent manager set to be thrown into the thick of it. A derby against Fulham is on the horizon this weekend, before home games against Red Bull Salzburg and Liverpool ahead of the international break.
