Tuchel blames poor Chelsea performance on plane air conditioning

An 89th minute Hakim Ziyech goal saw Chelsea earn a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t an impressive performance from the Blues and Thomas Tuchel admitted as much after the match.

However, the German coach was happy with the three-point haul, given the difficult preparations his side endured.

Chelsea were away at the Club World Cup last weekend, where they defeated Al Hilal and Palmeiras in Abu Dhabi to become world champions. But, that trip to the United Arab Emirates had some lingering side effects.

“We have six players with a cold from the air conditioning on the plane,” Tuchel revealed after the Crystal Palace game. “We also have jet leg from Abu Dhabi, as we had almost no players who slept well because of the time difference.”

The Chelsea team news ahead of hosting Lille

It is not clear who these six players with cold symptoms are, but Tuchel will be hoping that they feel better in time for Tuesday’s Champions League last 16 first leg against Lille at Stamford Bridge.

He also has injury concerns, with Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell and Reece James still working to recover from their respective issues, while Tuchel revealed on Saturday that Cesar Azpilicueta and Callum Hudson-Odoi are also doubtful for the Lille game.

Chelsea don’t have any suspended players for the first leg, nor do they have anyone even one booking away from a ban. They’ll hope to get through the tie and to make it to the quarter-finals without picking up many more yellow cards, as the Blues aim to defend their European crowd.

Another piece of good news for Chelsea is that the first leg is at home, so there won’t be any more issues with plane air conditioning ahead of this game against the French champions.