Kai Havertz admits surprise at Thomas Tuchel sacking
By Sean Walsh
Chelsea forward Kai Havertz has revealed that Thomas Tuchel's sacking as head coach came as a shock to him as he did not consider the team to be underperforming.
Tuchel was given his marching orders earlier in September following a slow start to the season, culminating in a disappointing 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb to kick off their Champions League campaign.
Antonio Rudiger, who left Chelsea for Real Madrid in the summer, recently admitted that he was surprised to see Tuchel leave Stamford Bridge, a sentiment shared by Germany teammate Havertz.
"Me too," Havertz told Kicker when informed that Rudiger was shocked by Tuchel's exit. "Especially when you consider how we’ve played in the past year and a half and what we’ve won.
"With the current sixth place in the table, you can’t speak of a messed up start to the season, especially since we have many newcomers who first have to acclimatise. But football is very fast-moving, a lot can happen at any time."
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Havertz added that Tuchel's successor, Graham Potter, has begun life well behind the scenes in west London and is excited for the season ahead.
"Our new coach has made a very good impression, we have a great squad. I think we are in for a good time," he said.
Potter has taken charge of only one Chelsea game thus far - a 1-1 draw at home to Salzburg. The Blues return to action on October 1 with a trip to Crystal Palace.