Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed Edouard Mendy has an injury and explained the goalkeeper’s recent poor form for the side.
The news comes after the Blues’ 2-1 win against West Ham on Saturday afternoon, in which the west London side won the game in dramatic circumstances.
Michail Antonio scored just after the hour mark to hand the Hammers the lead, with Mendy making a mistake in the buildup.
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However, Ben Chilwell was on hand to equalise for Chelsea soon after he came off the bench, before providing the assist for Kai Havertz’s late winner.
West Ham thought they had levelled the score just moments later when Maxwel Cornet fired into the roof of the net, but VAR disallowed the goal as Mendy was fouled just seconds before.
It was an eventful end to the match, especially considering how quiet the first half was.
After the win, Tuchel revealed that the Senegalese goalkeeper picked up an injury in the buildup to Cornet’s disallowed goal.
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“He was in a lot of pain and we have to see,” said the German boss.
“It’s too early to comment on that. I think at the moment he is a bit unlucky in what he is doing.
“In training, he is fantastic and he is in general a very calm and self-reflective guy who is aware that he lacks a little bit of luck at the moment.
"Things do not go in his favour. If he has maybe a situation where his action isn’t 100% clear, he gets punished for it massively. He is just in this moment and it feels like it’s not so much his fault.
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“I have the feeling because he tries everything, is very calm and focused. We will keep on supporting him.”
Many will feel as though Cornet’s goal should have stood, but Tuchel did not wish to criticise VAR after the win.
He said: “It obviously went in our favour (VAR). There is a reason I think it went in our favour.
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"It’s my opinion, and I don’t know if everyone shares the opinion that it’s very clear it’s a foul.
"The first goal we concede is very similar to the situation we had against Tottenham, but I leave it to you to decide if this goal should stand and whether this situation isn’t the same situation as against Tottenham.
"I will not comment anymore because what happened against Tottenham was so obvious, and I paid a lot of money for commenting, so I will not do it again.”
Chelsea next face Dinamo Zagreb away from home in their first Champions League match of the season, although Mendy may now be unable to feature.
Topics: Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel, Edouard Mendy, West Ham United, Premier League
Robert Calcutt