Tuchel takes aim at 'soft' Blues amid poor start

LONDON－Chelsea is getting precious little return for being the biggest-spending team in Europe this summer.

And it's not escaping the attention of Thomas Tuchel, either.

"It does not take a lot to beat us," the Chelsea manager said after a 2-1 loss at Southampton in the Premier League on Tuesday. "This is what I do not like."

If Wesley Fofana joins, as widely expected, from Leicester for what could be a record fee for a defender of more than 80 million pounds ($93 million), Chelsea's spending will not be far off $300 million in this transfer window.

The majority of that will have come on defenders, with Marc Cucurella and Kalidou Koulibaly having already arrived for big fees.

Yet Chelsea has conceded in all but one of its games. So compact in Tuchel's first year in charge－which included a Champions League title in 2021－the team now appears disjointed at the back and is missing the industry and energy of the injured N'Golo Kante in midfield.

Tuchel urged "soft" Chelsea to toughen up after the defeat plunged his spluttering team into Premier League turmoil.

Tuchel's side blew the lead at St Mary's after Raheem Sterling put it ahead midway through the first half.

England forward Sterling bagged his third goal in two games with a close-range strike in the 23rd minute.

But Chelsea had squandered a host of chances before Sterling's opener and, not for the first time in Tuchel's reign, its profligate finishing came back to haunt it.

Romeo Lavia equalized in the 28th minute with his first goal for Southampton, curling home from the edge of the area after Chelsea failed to clear a corner.

Adam Armstrong put Southampton ahead on the stroke of halftime as he took Romain Perraud's pass and drilled a deflected shot past Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy.

Chelsea, beaten 3-0 at Leeds in its previous away fixture, was unable to muster a response as it slipped to a second defeat from its last three games.

"Soft, soft, soft defending. There is no need to give shots away. Just toughen up as a team and show a different mentality," Tuchel said.

With just two wins from their first five matches, the Blues are already five points behind leader Arsenal, who plays its game in hand against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

Despite a significant offseason spending spree, which is set to continue with several more signings mooted before Thursday's transfer deadline, Chelsea is struggling to find any sustained momentum.

While it is too early to write it out of the title race, Tuchel will be concerned by his team's latest sloppy display, having already criticized it publicly after the Leeds loss.

"It is too easy to put us off balance, to beat us, to confuse us. It is too easy. It happened against Leeds. We need to understand why and find solutions," Tuchel said.

"We lose concentration, we lose our plan and lose consistency. I don't understand why we have so many injuries.

"In a match where you are in the lead there is no need to give away half-chances. To have no answers in the second half was disappointing."

Lampard frustrated

Everton's wait for a first win this season goes on after Luis Sinisterra's first league goal for Leeds earned a 1-1 draw at Elland Road.

Frank Lampard's team went ahead when Alex Iwobi's incisive pass was flicked through the legs of Diego Llorente by Anthony Gordon, whose clinical finish capped a superb move in the 17th minute.

But Colombia winger Sinisterra marked his first start for Jesse Marsch's men in memorable fashion with a composed finish in the 55th minute.

Elsewhere, Fulham ended Brighton's unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 win at Craven Cottage, while Brentford rescued a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.

Wilfried Zaha showed why Arsenal and Chelsea have been linked with him as he gave Palace the lead with a brilliant strike from the edge of the area before Yoane Wissa equalized with a close-range header in the 88th minute.

Antony's arrival

Meanwhile, Manchester United confirmed on Tuesday it has reached an agreement to sign Brazil forward Antony from Ajax.

Ajax said the transfer fee is 95 million euros ($95 million). Including add-ons, the fee could rise to 100 million euros.

Dutch national news agency ANP said that if the deal goes through it will be a record for an Eredivisie player, surpassing the 86 million euros maximum value of Frenkie de Jong's move from Ajax to Barcelona three years ago.

The 22-year-old Antony will be reunited with former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, who has already brought defender Lisandro Martinez to United from the Dutch giant.

Agencies