‘We gave two presents’: Thomas Tuchel blames ‘cheap’ mistakes for Elland Road unravelling

Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the season as Leeds, helped by Edouard Mendy’s howler, produced a brilliant display

Thomas Tuchel accused his Chelsea team of conceding “cheap and unnecessary” goals and gifting Leeds victory as they lost 3-0 at Elland Road.

The Chelsea manager said Edouard Mendy cost his team with “a huge mistake” after he lost then ball to Brenden Aaronson for Leeds’ opener and rued the fact their second goal, scored by Rodrigo, came from a set-piece as he claimed his side were better.

And he said new signing Kalidou Koulibaly’s red card was unacceptable after the defender collected a second caution for tugging back substitute Joe Gelhardt.

“It is a bit of a reflection of the frustration,” Tuchel said. “It cannot happen. We cannot get frustrated in Premier League games.”

Chelsea conceded twice in five first-half minutes and Tuchel said: “If we give goals away like this that are totally unnecessary and when we are totally in charge we cannot win football matches. We scored an own goal and gave an awfully cheap set-piece away and conceded from a set-piece. We gave two goals away that were totally cheap and unnecessary. We gave two presents.”

Tuchel said he did not need to tell Mendy he had made a major error, adding: “He knows himself. With these kind of mistakes I don’t know if it is necessary to speak a lot. He knows it is a mistake.

“Everybody in the world sees that mistake and it is a huge mistake in a crucial time of the match. It does not help. He is the one who is most disappointed. It cost us a lot today.”