Thomas Tuchel admitted he was dissatisfied with Callum Hudson-Odoi’s performance after mercilessly replacing the substitute in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw at Southampton.
With Chelsea losing at halftime, Hudson-Odoi joined the fray in the attack with Tammy Abraham being replaced.
Instead of using Olivier Giroud as a direct replacement, Hudson-Odoi was called.
However, less than 30 minutes later – with the score tied after Mason Mount’s penalty kick – Hudson-Odoi was brutally replaced, with Hakim Ziyech playing for the last quarter of an hour.
There was no sign of injury to the England international, who, frustrated, kicked a bottle of water when he reached the stands.
And Tuchel admitted after the game that he was not at all satisfied with Hudson-Odoi’s attitude and that his departure was purely about performance.
He said BT Sport: “With Hudson-Odoi, I was not happy with the attitude and the energy.
“We decided to take it out again. We demand a lot and 100 percent. I thought he was not well and could not help us.
“It is difficult for the players, but tomorrow it will be forgotten. He has every chance to start against Atlético. “
He also said beIN Sports: “I was not happy with his body language or his back pressure. And that is why I got the feeling that he is not ready to give what I wanted from him.”
And further clarifying his decision at his post-match press conference, Tuchel added: “In a game where it is difficult to create chances, you need to rely on the counterattack to force mistakes and get an easy chance. For that you need to be fully connected and clear.
“I didn’t feel that about Callum today. He missed chances of back pressure, lost easy balls. I don’t think he felt the game. Maybe it was unfair, but I didn’t have the feeling today that I normally get from him.
“It was a difficult decision, but nothing that will last long. Tomorrow will be forgotten and we will prepare for Atlético.”
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
Asked if he was concerned that the change would affect Hudson-Odoi’s confidence, the German said: “Everyone has to understand that I make decisions to win games and it’s okay for him to make mistakes and have a bad game, but we can’t lack energy up to 10 percent or 5 percent.
“He knows what I demand of him and when he doesn’t reach that level it is a difficult decision.
“He has to accept, swallow. So there is no problem.”
Tuchel also admitted that there was no recurrence of Abraham’s ankle problem – after he hobbled against Newcastle in the middle of the week – and that his break at break was also due to a struggle to make his mark in the process.
“It wasn’t from your injury. It was difficult for him to show his quality and we were not satisfied with the last 20 meters.
“Tammy failed to put his mark on this game and we changed the line-up.”
And in a forceful criticism of his team’s offensive game, Tuchel admitted that although he was happy with the way the Blues controlled the game, he was far from satisfied with the opportunities they missed to win the match.
“My frustration was the last 20 meters. We had so many opportunities, half chances.
“I had the feeling that in our own attacks they were bad choices. Balls hit, balls hit. I missed the aggression to end the game. The last 20 meters were not good enough.”
Sign up for Mirror Football email on here for the latest news and transfer gossip.