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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel couldn't hide his frustration with Cesar Azpilicueta following the defender's error which led to Everton's winning goal on Sunday (May 1).
The Blues' captain was on the ball within the first minute of the second half under seemingly no pressure. However, he inexplicably gave the ball away to Richarlison, who fired past Edouard Mendy to secure the Toffees a 1-0 win in the Premier League.
Despite having 79% possession in the clash and forcing Jordan Pickford into making some incredible saves, Chelsea couldn't find an equalizer. They are now just three points ahead of fourth-placed London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League table.
Tuchel was left seething by his side's defeat and claimed in his post-match press conference that his team needed to cut out basic errors in big games.
The German boss was asked about Azpilicueta's gaffe and if there was anything he could do to prevent it from happening in the future. As per Football.London, he replied:
"No, what can I do? The ball is free, then give a goal away. It is the worst thing that can happen to you in this atmosphere and situation. It happens too often, we struggle to play without big mistakes. That's why we struggle to have results."
Tuchel angered by Chelsea defeat at Everton
Chelsea took 17 shots at Pickford in the clash, but failed to find the back of the net. Their toothless display followed their disappointing performance at Manchester United on Thursday evening (28 April). The Blues failed to take advantage of several glorious opportunities at Old Trafford as the match ended 1-1.
Forwards Kai Havertz and Timo Werner were largely anonymous in the Goodison Park defeat. Meanwhile, Tuchel left record-signing Romelu Lukaku on the bench throughout the encounter.
However, the 48-year-old manager is more concerned with his side's defensive frailties, and stated in his press conference:
"If there is something I can do, I will try it, but if I knew about it, I would have done it before. I think, for me, the key is to have a clean sheet. Manchester United was a different game, more open, fluid, and more spaces, and we finally scored late and conceded straight away."
He added:
"For me, this is more like the game against West Ham. The opponent defends deep, we struggled to find space in the first half, but against West Ham, we had a clean sheet and played without any big mistakes. That gives us the chance to score late. If you run behind against an opponent like this, in this atmosphere and install emotion and belief in a stadium like this and the opponent's team, you struggle."
