Thomas Tuchel has played down his furious touchline rant at Jorginho during Chelsea’s FA Cup victory, insisting it was ‘nothing personal.’
Chelsea recorded a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon to set up a mouthwatering FA Cup final with Liverpool next month.
Tensions were high in the Blues camp after a frustrating 45 minutes for Chelsea as Palace kept them at bay and one incident in particular irked Tuchel.
TV cameras picked up the German’s furious outburst at Jorginho but the manager has now explained exactly what happened.
‘I was very hard on him during the match. He had some situations he could do better and normally does,’ he said.
‘It is never personal. I love Jorgi. I know that he knows it. We see now we overused him, I have the feeling we see the consequences of these huge amount of matches.
‘If he plays he is always fully involved, gives everything and plays with a lot of effort. ‘He has to be absolutely fresh to have the influence he normally has. He is not mentally, physically in the freshest moment at the minute.
‘He is not to blame for. It affects how I analyse it, he had two or three situations where he could do better (vs Crystal Palace). Nothing personal. Nothing that stands between us.’
Jorginho has spoken about the pressure he had on his shoulders in leading Italy to Euro 2020 glory last summer but then failing to help his team qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
Tuchel believes the Italian manager has coped well given the circumstances and appreciates what he’s done for his team.
‘He played injured, sacrificed for the team (this season). I think you see it now. You can never underestimate how much pressure is on playing for the national team, the country, for Italy,’ Tuchel added.
‘The demands are high after big success like winning the Euros. I think he really felt the pressure there, everybody for Italy felt it.
‘This is normal. Sometimes after big successes, it’s very difficult to keep on going. He put a lot of responsibility naturally on his shoulders because he is never shy to do so. He is never shy to do it here, this is why I love him.’
