On Friday Thomas Tuchel flicked from the injuries to bad luck and wondered aloud if his players might have found it hard to cope with plaudits as he searched for reasons to explain Chelsea’s recent results.
In 25 days since their 4-0 demolition of Juventus, the Blues have won only two of six, neither convincingly, and slipped from three points clear at the top of the Premier League to four adrift of leaders Manchester City.
‘We’re in exactly the place you don’t want to be,’ said Tuchel. ‘Good performances — sometimes very good — but we don’t have results.