Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said he was worried about his team’s progress and concerned by his players’ lack of commitment during their pre-season tour of the United States after they slipped to a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal in Florida on Saturday.
Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga scored in a comfortable win at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium as Arsenal rounded off their US tour by winning all three of their matches.
“We were simply not competitive,” Tuchel told reporters. “The worrying part is that the level of commitment physically and mentally for this match was far higher for Arsenal than for us.
“It was surely not our strongest line-up. This is a part of an explanation but only a little part… I cannot guarantee we will be ready in two weeks,” he added, referring to Chelsea’s Premier League opener at Everton on August 6.
Chelsea beat Mexican side Club America and lost to Major League Soccer team Charlotte FC on penalties in their previous pre-season friendlies in the States.
“I don’t know if I ever lost a match in pre-season 4-0. I can’t remember not winning two matches in a row in pre-season,” Tuchel said. “I am superstitious but not in a way that I say bad pre-season has to mean a bad season.”
