Tuchel: It is my job to take hard decisions

faced

tonight in a Premier league clash and the two teams ended up leaving the pitch with a 0-0 draw.

Since

Thomas Tuchel

took over at Chelsea,

has not been given many chances to feature for the blues. The 23-year-old was also not included in today’s 18-men squad.

In a post-match interview, Tuchel clarified why he left Abraham out of today’s squad.

He said:

"Selection. We have 21 strong players and only 18 possible. It is my job to take hard decisions. This was the decision for 18 guys and Tammy was not with the group.

"At the moment he is only struggling with my decision. We have a strong squad. We have only Thiago Silva injured that means we have to make hard decisions.

"We can nominate 18 players, plus goalkeepers so it is clear. It was also an unfair decision for Billy Gilmour because Billy played well in the cup and he was very strong in training.

"It was a hard decision. It was about judging the alternatives that we have and we opted for Olivier Giroud to begin, Timo Werner on the bench. We have Kai Havertz who can play as a number nine so there was no need to bring a fourth number nine to the pitch.

"Things are difficult for him. Things are not as easy as they should be for him in the moment and he will get full support. This was the decision.

"It is totally natural for him to be worried. He has to do exactly what he does, train well, be in a good mood and accept that he is a striker for Chelsea so this is the highest competition in Europe.

"When you play for Chelsea, it is a difficult decision I have to take and I am very very happy when I have to take them because it means everybody is on board. This is what you sign up for if you are a player for Chelsea, a coach for Chelsea that these moments arrive.

"There is no other answer to it other than to accept it and be there for tomorrow to fight for your place in the squad. I am sure he will do it."

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