THOMAS TUCHEL HIT out at Newcastle defender Jamaal Lascelles’ “reckless” tackle that left Tammy Abraham with an ankle injury.
Lascelles avoided any censure from referee Peter Bankes despite a scissor tackle that upended the Chelsea striker in the Newcastle area.
Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner scored as Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners to climb into the Premier League’s top four for the first time since December.
But new boss Tuchel was left frustrated by the tackle that ended Abraham’s night, revealing he was barred from discussing it with referee Bankes at half-time.
“There’s no update yet on Tammy, but we needed to take him off after a hard tackle,” said Tuchel.
“So we are worried, but there’s no news of him.
“My assistant tried to show him (Bankes) the tackle on the iPad and he told us he was not allowed to talk to us.
“It was the tackle, but we didn’t know he wasn’t allowed to watch. So okay, we didn’t realise that.
“We had the feeling it was a reckless tackle.
“He (Lascelles.) played the ball, yes, but for me it’s too much of a risk of an injury to the opponent. And because of that for me it’s a foul.
“It’s reckless, but okay it was not like us to criticise, just to discuss with the officials.”
Chelsea’s jump to fourth pushed defending champions Liverpool down to sixth, with new Blues boss Tuchel claiming his fourth straight league victory in west London.
Tuchel insisted the hard work remains still ahead for Chelsea, despite the Blues climbing back into the top four.
Chelsea will travel to face Southampton on Saturday, with Tuchel revealing he will hand his players Tuesday and Wednesday off in a bid to aid recovery amid the hectic fixture list.
“We will never stop pushing, there’s no other way,” said Tuchel.
“We knew if we got results this could be on the step for us. If we won today we knew we’d be in the top four.
“But I can only tell everybody there’s still a long way to go.
“Many teams are very, very close. There’s a lot of big games to play and many points to win.
“Now for me it’s important we take two days off and recover mentally and physically and then prepare 100 per cent for Southampton, it’s the next challenge.
“We play in the most difficult league in Europe. But right now it’s the next fixture.”
Newcastle’s latest defeat opens up the possibility of Fulham putting the squeeze on Steve Bruce’s men as the relegation battle hots up.
Magpies boss Bruce insisted almost half the league will still be looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone, calling for calm in the wake of another demoralising defeat.
“I think there’s seven or eight teams that are always looking probably over their shoulders,” said Bruce.
“That’s the nature of the Premier League when you’re in the bottom half.
“You always hope you can get to the magical figure whatever it is.
“We certainly haven’t got enough points at the moment, and hopefully we can put a couple of wins together very, very quickly.”
Hopefully when Kilkenny roll into town the craic will be mighty and Dr. Cullen hopping.
Well perhaps they Carlos GAA board could start with maybe organising a proper all county league . Only hurling played in the County is the championship which gives each player a maximum of 5 games in.
Even with football, each club player only gets about twelve games..
Reason Dublin are successful is because each player get 14 to 16 league games, plus championship and some cup games
Uneven spread of money to bigger counties like Dublin, Kerry , Kilkenny and cork . Money should be going to smaller counties .Why are the bigger counties , getting the largest slice of the cake .
2. Facts are he is a teacher and is apart of the demographic that will play the game into the future . People are working more unsociable hours than ever before . I believe Pat Spillane alluded to this a number of years ago .. . And it will have a detrimental effect on the game ..
I agree with the sentiment, but surely the onus is on Carlow and other such counties to get their houses in order first? If they’ve lost four hurling clubs in the past few years, can Croke Park really force clubs to start up again? And as an aside….is he really saying they’re not good enough for the top level of the championship, and maybe shouldn’t be there after all?
They should dismantle it and football and concentrate on some we’re fairly OK at. Rugby
There is a culture of entitlement in Carlow, not just in GAA circles,that allows them to moan & groan about their situation but fail to understand that results and improvements come as a result of good structure & governance, initiative & hard work. The article is from the heart and no doubt, borne out of disappointment & frustration, but the heartening part is the author appears to have the wherewithal to contribute constructively to an improving situation.
@Liam Mernagh: thats a load of rubbish !!
@eamonn farrell: you’re entitled to your opinion, but I think Carlie’s GAA record speaks for itself. The truth can be difficult to swallow.
@Liam Mernagh: Carlow’s even.
… just to add – i don’t see why that duality of thinking is so problematic. The giving out about the Boston trip smacks of small mindedness but it’s the same black and white thinking we see everywhere these days
Agree totally with Paul.
I don’t see why you can’t develop the game from both ends of the spectrum. Put in the work in growing the game domestically and in places where it isn’t taking hold. At the same time maintain it’s profile internationally.