Thomas Tuchel bemoaned the rhythm and freshness absent from his team as Chelsea crashed to a second successive defeat.
The European champions were beaten 1-0 in Turin on Wednesday, just four days after losing by the same score at home against Manchester City in the Premier League.
When asked what the reason was for Chelsea’s below-par performance, Tuchel conceded he did not “know why” they had performed so poorly in Turin.
“I think we started not sharp enough. We struggled to create our own rhythm and intensity because they were so deep and passive. We were lacking runs. We were so good in training yesterday and not good enough, not free enough today. I don’t know why,” Chelsea’s head coach said.
‘Disappointed,’ said Tuchel. ‘We’re all disappointed. It was the tough game we expected. You have to play with zero mistakes in midfield and take the risks in the right moment. To do this you need to be in rhythm, good decision-making.
‘I didn’t feel us fresh today, mentally. We were in training yesterday. Today it was not like this. I don’t know why. If you need any proof, look at the two ball losses in the first half and the cheap goal we gave away.
‘I felt us slow, tired, mentally slow with our decision making. We had ball possession, high recoveries but two crucial ball losses. You can’t have this on this kind of level.’
Federico Chiesa stunned Chelsea with the only goal of the game, smashed into the net within 12 seconds of the start of the second half.
‘It is impossible on this kind of level to concede a goal like this in the first seconds of the second half,’ fumed Tuchel.
‘When you know what’s coming and you have defensive organisation like we have, normally it’s always possible to defend it. We got punished for it.’
He also claimed the negative and defensive approach by Juventus made it more difficult for his team to impose the style he wanted to see.
‘We struggled to create our own rhythm because they were so deep and so passive. It is not easy, we struggled to find our own intensity, but this is what you need to do.’
After two games, Chelsea are second in Group H behind Juventus with two fixtures next against Malmo of Sweden.
They met a typically tough Juventus rearguard after Chiesa’s opener, and Tuchel conceded his side found it difficult to break down their opponents – just as they found last weekend in the Premier League.
“Manchester City scored from a set-piece with a deflected shot against us. Sometimes you need this. If a team defends deep, it’s hard to find your own rhythm,” Tuchel added.
“We were lacking runners. Once we started to do other things, we made mistakes and that cost us a bit of belief. A shooting problem. If we don’t shoot, they cannot be on target. If you play against a deep block like today, it’s hard to take shots.
“We found the spaces, it wasn’t easy. We had a lot of shots, but I think there are some chances late in the game where it wouldn’t have been so hard to find the target.”