EPL: Things are not going his way, he gets punished – Tuchel acknowledges Mendy’s bad form

Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel has described his goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy as ‘unlucky’, saying things are not going the way of the Senegalese at the moment.

The Africa Cup of Nations winner, who joined Chelsea for £22m in 2020, produced another shaky performance in the club’s 2-1 win over West Ham on Saturday.

Mendy’s tame punch led to Michail Antonio’s first goal for the Hammers. The Senegalese was offered a huge reprieve late on in the game as Maxwel Cornet’s equaliser was controversially disallowed as VAR cited a foul by Jarrod Bowen.

Mendy helped Chelsea win the Champions League in 2021 and followed that up with the Africa Cup of Nations with his country, but his performances have dipped since then.

Chelsea acknowledged that things are not going Mendy’s way, but promised to support the goalkeeper who he believes is suffering from a run of bad luck.

“I think at the moment he [Mendy] is a bit unlucky in what he is doing,” Tuchel told reporters after the game.

“In training, he is fantastic, and he is, in general, a very calm and self-reflective guy who is aware that he lacks a little bit of luck at the moment

“Things do not go in his favour. If he has, maybe a situation where his action isn’t 100% clear, he gets punished for it massively.

“He is just in this moment, and it feels like it’s not so much his fault. I have the feeling because he tries everything, he is very calm and focused. We will keep on supporting him.”