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Thomas Tuchel was critical of his Chelsea side for losing concentration during their victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Blues picked up a 1-0 win in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final to progress to the final on aggregate. They had won the first leg 2-0 at Stamford Bridge a week ago.
Speaking after the second leg, Tuchel told BBC Radio 5 Live (via Football 365):
“We’re happy with the result. In the first half, we were the better team, and we deserved to be up. But we lost concentration and lost focus in the last 15 minutes of the first half and again in the second half.”
Antonio Conte's Tottenham ended the game with 15 goal attempts, two more than Chelsea. However, both sides had only three shots on target. The Blues largely dominated possession, but Tuchel felt his side were almost punished for their drop in performance. He said:
“We were almost punished for lack of focus. We played at 90%, and that’s not our style – we shouldn’t do this. We had to work hard ,and it was not our best performance – we were better in the first leg.”
Antonio Rudiger scored the only goal of the game from Mason Mount's corner after Spurs keeper Pierluigi Gollini came off his line for the ball but missed it. The goal gave Chelsea a three-goal cushion, and effectively killed the tie with only 18 minutes gone at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Earlier, Tuchel's side picked up a routine 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the semi-final. Kai Havertz scored five minutes in after some poor defending by Spurs. Conte's side made another error in the 34th minute as Ben Davies scored a comical own goal from Japhet Tanganga's attempted clearance.
Chelsea have a difficult run of fixtures in the coming weeks
Victory over Tottenham kept the Blues in the running for all four titles this season. Chelsea are currently second in the Premier League, ten points behind Manchester City, and will face either Liverpool or Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final.
They have also qualified for the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they will take on League One side Plymouth Argyle on 5 February. However, before that clash, Tuchel's side have some difficult matches to negotiate.
Their tough run will begin with a top-of-the-table clash against Manchester City on Saturday (15 January). Defeat at the Etihad Stadium could signal the end of the Blues' slim title hopes and would put City 13 points clear.
The City game will be followed by a visit to Brighton, who have punched above their weight this season. Chelsea will close out the month with a home clash against Tottenham, who will be out to avenge their Carabao Cup defeat against their London rivals.
