Thomas Tuchel refuses to give Leeds credit for win and blames 'having to take bus' to Yorkshire

They may have fallen to a 3-0 defeat against Leeds on Sunday but Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said his side were "clearly the better team" at Elland Road.

Goals from Brenden Aaronson, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison sealed an emphatic win for the Whites, who continued their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign with a dominant performance.

Having spent £170 million in this summer's transfer window, Chelsea still looked unsure at the back, especially when Leeds applied a high press.

Edouard Mendy was at fault for Aaronson's opener, while new signing Kalidou Koulibaly picked up a second yellow card following a reckless tackle on Joe Gelhardt.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel went on to give a post-match interview that raised plenty of eyebrows amongst fans.

He mentioned the fact that he and his coaches had to endure a "long ride on the bus" from London to Yorkshire before lamenting individual mistakes.

“Everything that can go wrong, did go wrong," Tuchel told BBC. "It started yesterday [Saturday] We had no plane to arrive so we came on the bus.

“The players could fly but for the coaching staff it was a long ride on the bus. It continued today.

“We lost the game in the first 20 minutes, where we were clearly better and had huge chances. A lot of touches in the box but we miss the target and do not take what we deserve.

“We then stopped doing what we were doing good and it was even for 15 minutes and in those we gave two presents.

“We were clearly the better team. They do what they do. I don’t see that a set-piece and own goal [Mendy’s mistake] are due to the style. They are mistakes.

“If we give goals away like this that are totally unnecessary and when we are totally in charge we cannot win football matches.

“We tried second-half and I am disappointed we lost that half as well. They made the maximum of their half-chances and we did not.”

Agree with Thomas Tuchel? 🤔#MOTD2 pic.twitter.com/hBDqcVyPNA

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) August 21, 2022

Tuchel also told BBC Sport that there was no room on the plane for the coaching staff so they had to take a bus, without their players. #CFC #LEECHE

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) August 21, 2022

Chelsea have been linked with a move for another defender of late. Last week, Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was named as a possible target for the Blues.

And after the final whistle on Sunday, Tuchel hinted they could still be in the market for a new centre-back.

“I don’t know, we need to wait,” he said. “The transfer period is still open. It gets later or later and we need to focus on what we have and what we can do.

“We can play at a high level, but (on Sunday) we lost track and there was no need. We were not forced to lose track, everything was going well.”