– Thomas Tuchel explained he took off Odoi because the winger was not aggressive enough
– Odio looked extremely disappointed when he was brought off in the second half, barely 30 minutes after coming on
– Despite tinkering with his squad, Tuchel’s Chelsea only managed a draw against the Saints
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Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was brutally honest when asked to open up on why he decided to take off Callum Hudon-Odoi in the clash against Southampton on Saturday, February 20.
The Blues came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw but it will be seen as points dropped for Tuchel’s side, who were not on their best in the early kick off.
Notably, some underperformers in the game included Odio, who was controversially taken off 30 minutes after coming on at half time to replace the injured Tammy Abraham.
Thomas Tuchel subbed Hudson Odoi on and off against The Saints. Photo by Neil Hall
Source: Getty Images
It is never a good sight to see a substitute being substituted but that was the case for Odio and fans online could not help but wonder the reasoning behind his manager’s decision.
After the game, the German manager, who remains unbeaten as Chelsea boss, attempted to break down why the winger was eventually taken off for Hakim Ziyech.
He said:
“With Hudson-Odoi, I was not happy with the energy and with the attitude and counter-pressing.
“I had the feeling he is not ready to give what I want from him and the team, so we suffered from this decision,”
Tuchel however made it clear there was no reason to read into the substitution and that “by tomorrow, it is forgotten”.
It is kind to note that since Tuchel came on as manager, he has been trying to man-manage his squad, which is laden with superstars.
Notably, the likes of Ceasar Azpilicuete and Marcos Alonso, two fullbacks who were falling down the pecking order under Lampard, are getting extra playing time.
Despite bringing on the likes of Ziyech and Jorginho, Chelsea could not turn the game around and eventually had to settle for a point.
Tuchel will have to find a consistent winning squad sooner than later as a number of tough fixtures await the Blues in the coming weeks.
They start off with a tricky Champions League round of 16 game against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, February 23.
However, Bioreports earlier reported that Liverpool suffered yet another blow on Saturday, February 20, as they were beaten 2-0 by Everton in a hotly-contested Merseyside derby.
The Reds have now suffered four straight defeats in the league, with three of those coming at Anfield.
Babajide is a digital publishing expert, an avid sports content thinker, researcher and writer. He is a graduate of Guidance and Counselling, having bagged his B.SC (ED) from the Ekiti State University. He can be reached on Twitter @JideOrevba
