THOMAS TUCHEL has taken responsibility for Chelsea’s loss to Manchester City last week.
City avenged their Champions League final defeat thanks to Gabriel Jesus’ second-half winner.
And Pep Guardiola out-thought Tuchel, who accepted his side were not good enough in attack.
Speaking in his programme notes ahead of the Southampton game, Tuchel said: “City played at their higher level and we did not reach ours – and when I say ‘we’, I mean me and the team.
“We could not find the offensive solutions that we wanted to find, and the defensive plan was maybe a bit too passive, so it was too easy for them to enter into our half.
“This involves both me and the game plan and also the way we carried out the plan. We were clearly not at our best level on the day and we lost.”
Tuchel, 48, handed Timo Werner his second league start of the season – and his first alongside Romelu Lukaku up-front.
But the pair failed to create any noteworthy chances and it was a difficult afternoon for the Blues at Stamford Bridge.
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Chelsea were again frustrated against Juventus in Turin on Wednesday, despite fresh faces in attack with Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech handed starts.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ross Barkley were also brought on to provide a creative spark but Lukaku wasted a chance created by the latter in the closing stages.
Tuchel pointed to a lack of “rhythm” after the Juventus defeat and will hope that changes against Southampton.
Loftus-Cheek has been brought into the side with Hudson-Odoi providing pace in his favoured position on the right-flank, but Saints have proved tough to beat with draws against Manchester United and Manchester City this season.
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