MY ACCOUNT
Thomas Tuchel was furious with the officials after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham as he suggested both Spurs goals should have been disallowed.
Chelsea were dominant for much of their first home game of the season, twice taking the lead through Kalidou Koulibaly’s stunning volley and Reece James’ well-worked goal.
But Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg got Spurs’ initial equaliser and Harry Kane saw his stoppage-time header find the net via a deflection off James to rescue a point for the visitors.
Tuchel, who twice clashed with Spurs boss Antonio Conte during an ill-tempered affair, thinks neither goal should have stood.
The German was adamant the offside Richarlison interfered with Edouard Mendy’s line of sight for the first leveller, while Chelsea were also furious to see Kai Havertz denied a free-kick earlier in the build-up.
Later on, Cristian Romero avoided being penalised despite pulling Marc Cucurella to the floor by his hair as Kane’s header earned Spurs a draw.
Tuchel’s frustration was plain to see as he spoke to Sky Sports, even if he applauded Chelsea’s general performance.
“We were brilliant, we were absolutely brilliant,” he said. “Sorry I have to say but both goals cannot stand, absolutely cannot stand.
“There’s only one team who deserves to win and it’s us, we were absolutely brilliant and sorry for my team that they didn’t get what they deserved.
“It’s a clear foul on Kai Havertz in the build-up [to the first goal], a clear foul. We had one tactical foul from Reece James and he got a yellow.
“I don’t know how many tactical fouls Hojbjerg and [Rodrigo] Bentancur did, nothing happened.
“Clear foul on Havertz. Okay, the situation goes on and on and on, then it’s a clear offside from Richarlison, he’s in the line of the shot, he even goes to the ball, he doesn’t touch the ball and Edou cannot see the ball.
“It’s a clear offside, and since when can you pull hair on a football field?”
While Kane did not specifically address the controversy surrounding Spurs’ goals, he accepted they were fortunate to leave Stamford Bridge with a point.
“Overall we probably didn’t deserve a point from the game but we dug deep, we stuck in there, we fought until the end,” he told BBC Sport.
“Credit to the boys, we had that last chance at the end there and managed to take it. Still, there’s stuff to work on, but an important point away from home.”
