Tuchel defends Rudiger after centre-back was involved in mass brawl

Thomas Tuchel defended Antonio Rudiger after the Chelsea centre-back was at the heart of a mass confrontation on the final whistle following Jorginho's stoppage time penalty that condemned Leeds to defeat.

In a fiercely-contested and controversial match between two old enemies, Chelsea came out on top thanks to a Mason Mount goal and two penalties from Jorginho, each time after Rudiger had been fouled.

And when referee Chris Kavanagh finally blew for full-time, a fracas involving players, substitutes and some members of the coaching staff took place by a corner flag. Rudiger ran half the length of the pitch to join in, and squared up to Diego Llorente and other Leeds players before he was pulled away by Chelsea team-mates.

It is not the first time the German has been involved in controversy, but Tuchel defended the big centre-back. 'If you have Toni you have Toni. You cannot have Toni as the emotional and aggressive leader, and not expect him to be involved when there are team-mates to protect,' said his manager.

'He would not accept losing today. We knew it would be an intense match for Toni and (Cesar) Azpilicueta because of the way Leeds play. It's good Toni did not accept to lose.'

Tuchel admitted he had little idea what happened. 'I did not see in detail what was going on. I can understand the frustration because we have all been in that situation when you think you have a point and it slips away. Leeds like to win and hate to lose, just like us. Hopefully from what I observed, no harm was done.'

Marcelo Bielsa was quick to play down fears that things got out of hand. 'In a game of emotions that were so high, it was two teams with liberated passions,' said the Leeds manager.

'These things to happen. What I saw was within the margins of what was tolerable. All of us might hope it hadn't happened, but I don't think it overcame any great limits.'

Tuchel admitted his side were lucky to win, having gone behind to Raphinha's 28th minute penalty, and then being pegged back by a late Joe Gelhardt equaliser after goals from Mount and Jorginho's first penalty had put Chelsea ahead. But when Leeds substitute Mateusz Klich fouled Rudiger deep in stoppage time, Jorginho made sure Chelsea took all three points.

'I was confident it would come,' added Tuchel. 'At times we played with a little bit of fear that we had something to lose, and we absolutely did not want to lose what we had worked so hard for. There is always a bit of luck when you score such a late goal, but we'd conceded two of them (recently) so maybe it was our turn.

'We needed this win desperately, for the mood and belief and atmosphere. I'm very happy how we got it, how we played. We have two days off now and it's a good feeling among the boys.'

Jorginho will enjoy the rest more than most, having had to play through hip and back pain in recent weeks in the continued absence of central midfielders Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante.

'Jorgi is super important, and he has sacrificed himself for us in recent weeks,' said Tuchel.

'I suspected this moment would come when he would suffer because he has not had a break. He played through to the Champions League final for us, then in the Euros for Italy and World Cup qualifiers.

He had no pre-season, and started our SuperCup game straightaway. It was not demanding just physically but mentally too. I knew there would be a time in the season when he would feel his body. He is not fully fit, but Jorgi is Jorgi and fully aware of the situation, that we miss Kova and N'Golo. He makes a sacrifice and gives his very best every day.

He spends hours and hours with the physios and the medical department to get himself in the best shape possible. He has a great attitude and it was a nice reward for him today, because it is not easy to score two penalties in one game.'