Reaction from Tuchel on what Chelsea need to do in order to score more plus explains why Hudson-Odoi was taken off

Thomas Tuchel saw a run of five wins in a row come to an end as Chelsea drew 1-1 in today's lunchtime kick-off against Southampton, however the subject of much of Thomas Tuchel's analysis after the game was the sharpness required to score goals to win a game whilst keeping it tight defensively.

Thomas Tuchel on the touchline during Chelsea's 1-1 draw at Southampton

Tuchel saw his side go behind for the first time in the seven games that he has been in charge as head coach when Southampton scored on the counter attack in the first half. A penalty in the second half from Mason Mount secured a point for Chelsea.

Despite Chelsea conceding their first goal scored by an opposition player under Tuchel, the German was very content with the way that his team played at St Mary's apart from Chelsea's work in and around the penalty area.

Tuchel regretfully said 'we created opportunities which in the end were not opportunities'. 

'We opened up a lot of space for our attacking players as well as the last passes however, both the decision making and the determination and our timing was simply not good enough in order for us to create chances and to become more decisive. We had to rely on a penalty to score our goal.'

'During the second half I felt that we more touches in the box however, when we started to create something we lacked the precision to convert it. We were unable to win the decisive one-on-ones and also lacked composure.'

'During the first 80 metres we did not allow our opponents any opportunities for a counter-attack or any other difficult situations except for the one goal which they scored. The last 20 metres from us was simply not good enough.'

In an attempt to improve the play attacking wise Callum Hudson-Odoi was introduced at the beginning of the second half replacing Tammy Abraham and joining Mason Mount and Timo Werner in attack but lasted just 30 minutes as he was substituted himself for Hakim Ziyech. Tuchel later confirmed that this was not as a result of an injury.

Tuchel explained ' In a match where you have to create chances you often have to rely on counter-pressing in order to force mistakes and win the second balls in order to create chances.' 'For this you need to be totally sharp and switched on for the counter-press and I didn't feel that today from Callum. He had some opportunities which he missed and he lost some easy balls. I felt that he was never really truly in the game.'

'You know very well I trust him a lot as he plays every game. I was close to him today and it may have even been unfair but I didn't get that feeling that he was going to be decisive. It was a very difficult decision for me to make, but it is not a decision which we will dwell on for too long. Tomorrow it will be forgotten and we will move forward in preparing for Atletico.'

'I have to make key decisions in order for us to win games,' Tuchel continued ' and it is not a problem for me if Callum makes a mistake or he misses but what we cannot lack however, is energy.'

'I know and have seen what he can give and this is the reason why I trust him a lot and this will never change, but Callum knows exactly what I expect from him.'

'It is not often the worst thing which can happen, he may possibly start against Atletico but he needs to show me that he is reliable and this is the next step for him. He has trouble as soon as he comes of the bench, this was exactly the case against Sheffield United and it was like this again today. It is up to Callum now to improve because we may need him sometimes to come off the bench and produce. This is something which he will have to accept and learn from.'

Going back to the team in general, Tuchel admits that there is more work to be done in order to score more goals.

'There is never a problem with the structure and the structure is not always the solution, it is normally the input from the players. The structure is the fluidity, where in different structures you find different spaces.'

'We are always thinking day and night about how to score and create opportunities. The numbers from the last match suggest that we are not scoring enough for the amount of touches which we have in the box and for the amount of shots and chances which we are creating.'

'It often comes down to a lack of precision, as supposed to a lack of chances. It all depends on the quality in the decision-making. Today for instance in the last 20 metres I felt that we could have finished the game when it was there to be done. We will need to analyse this and it my job to ensure that we are creating more clear cut chances.'

For more articles on news relating to Chelsea Football Club please visit my twitter account 

Link - Follow Chelsea (@FollowChelsea4) / Twitter