Tuchel criticises own pitch at Stamford Bridge after Arsenal defeat

The German head coach felt his opponent's first goal was the result of field conditions

Thomas Tuchel has complained about the state of Chelsea's own pitch at Stamford Bridge, blaming it for Andreas Christensen's back-pass error that gifted Arsenal an early goal on Wednesday.

The manager called the conditions "not in our favour" while acknowledging his perspective "maybe sounds like an excuse" after a 4-2 defeat against the Gunners.

Chelsea have lost three matches at home in April, conceding 11 times between their losses to Brentford, Real Madrid and Arsenal.

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Tuchel complains about Stamford Bridge pitch

"I must say, the pitch is difficult to play here," he told reporters.

"It maybe sounds like an excuse but it is a very difficult pitch that we have here. It is not to our favour. The ball bounces very, very awkwardly in front of Andreas when he wants to play this ball."

Tuchel added that he took off Christensen at the half due to an injury, not because of his performance over the opening 45 minutes.

Chelsea's next home matches

The Blues host West Ham at Stamford Bridge this weekend as they finish the season with four home games in their final seven outings in the Premier League.

They'll also welcome Wolves, Leicester City and Watford to their London stadium.

The bigger picture

Despite losing to Arsenal, Chelsea remain secure in third place in the Premier League. They still hold a five point advantage over Arsenal and Tottenham with a game in hand.

But after crashing out of the Champions League last week in a dramatic match against Real Madrid, their last-season tailspin has upset their manager.

"How can you do three, two, one big mistakes in matches? How can you?" he said to reporters. "You cannot."

Speaking to BBC Sport, he added: "We need to find a solution. I don’t have one right now. It is completely on us. A number of individual errors you cannot overcome. You cannot give three goals away for nothing.

"I hate losing and losing three times at home is unacceptable."