“I’m the happiest coach on earth,” said Thomas Tuchel, and it was this statement by the Chelsea coach that came as the most surprising after the home game against city rivals Tottenham Hotspur. After all, the 48-year-old gave the impression of being very, very angry right after the final whistle. And as much as he tried to refute this appearance on the Sky microphone, he didn’t quite succeed.
“Both goals conceded shouldn’t count,” he was particularly annoyed about the performance of the referee team – and was right, even twice for Spurs’ first goal. Because not only that Kai Havertz was fouled just under a minute before the goal of ex-Munich player Pierre Emile Højbjerg (68th). In addition, Spurs forward Richarlison blocked Chelsea keeper Mendy’s view of the ball from an offside position. At least the latter should have been recognized by referee Anthony Taylor after studying the video images and the goal should have been withdrawn; he didn’t even watch the scene.
“And since when can you actually pull your hair on the soccer field?” asked Tuchel, looking at Harry Kane’s headed goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time. This came as a result of a corner that shouldn’t have been there. Cristian Romero, the moved-up Spurs central defender, had pulled Marc Cucurella by the hair on the previous corner kick. The superfluity of this action does not make it any less punishable, but Taylor awarded Tottenham a corner kick.
First Conte cheers in the direction of the Chelsea bench, then Tuchel retaliates
Although it is true that when Chelsea’s captain Jorginho conceded the first goal, he carelessly gave the ball away in his own penalty area and Harry Kane was released about four meters from goal, Tuchel was very satisfied with his team’s performance (“We were absolutely brilliant”). In fact, Chelsea dominated the game for long stretches and had very good chances to score, especially in the second half, but it wasn’t just Kai Havertz who treated them carelessly in the 75th minute.
Central defender Kalidou Koulibaly made it 1-0 with a technically demanding direct acceptance after a corner from Cucurella (19′). Both newcomers, signed from Naples and Brighton for a total of more than 100 million euros, impressed in their first home game at Stamford Bridge. Raheem Sterling, for whom Chelsea transferred around 56 million euros to Manchester, found it somewhat difficult in the role of the front attacker, but at least prepared Reece James’ 2-1 lead (77th). The interim equalizer by Højbjerg, on the other hand, turned the game upside down.
Stately pack formation: Several members of the supervisory staff are needed to tell Thomas Tuchel (blue cap) and his colleague Conte apart.
(Photo: Ian Walton/AP)
This condition, mixed with doubts about the regularity of the goal, made Tuchel and his colleague Antonio Conte clash. Conte, who cheered very clearly in the direction of the opposing bench, shortly afterwards had a visibly upset Chelsea coach in front of his nose. An escalation of the situation could be prevented by the intervention of attentive members of the two coaching staffs, at least for the time being.
Tuchel retaliated when his team scored again with a spirited rush past the Spurs bench, which Conte commented on Instagram at night with the words: “Luckily I didn’t see you. It would have been well deserved to trip you up. ” After the end of the game, fisticuffs actually broke out: because Conte Tuchel refused to make eye contact when shaking hands, he didn’t let go of the Italian’s hand. This was followed by scenes that are rarely seen, with mutual insults and the final decision of the helpless-looking referee to show both coaches the red card in farewell.
“Another bad decision by the referee,” said Tuchel later. “No one was insulted, we didn’t have a fistfight. It’s not a big deal for me, it was part of this game. I enjoyed it, I think he did too. It wasn’t a bad thing.” Opponent Conte had a different suggestion for the future: “He stays on his bench, I stay on my bench and there is no problem.”