Thomas Tuchel made a bizarre excuse as he leapt to the defence of Jorginho, blaming the Stamford Bridge lights for his mistake against Manchester United.
The Italian suffered a rare blot on his copybook on Sunday as his error led directly to United taking the lead against the Premier League leaders.
Having been left as the sole man back during a corner for the hosts, Jorginho attempted to bring a high ball under control but saw the ball run away from him.
Jadon Sancho nipped in quickly to take it away and leave the Euro 2020 winner for dust, before finishing calmly past Edouard Mendy to give United the lead in the second half after coming under immense pressure during the opening 45 minutes.
Jorginho went on to atone for his error somewhat, tucking away a penalty after Aaron Wan-Bissaka brought down Thiago Silva, but it proved to be a key moment in the game as United came away from their trip to London with a point.
Tuchel though refused to blame Jorginho for the error, insisting the floodlights at Stamford Bridge played a big part in his mistake.
“He misjudged the situation and I think he was heavily disturbed from the lights. It happens,” Tuchel said.
“It takes a lot of courage and personality to not be affected during the match and to have the courage to take the penalty. I am very happy that he did it.”
The mistake didn’t prove too costly as Chelsea remain top of the table, although their lead has been cut down to just a point, while the draw gave United their first point since the win at Tottenham.
“I am absolutely happy with what the players put in,” Tuchel added.
“We had so many high ball recoveries, so can we maybe create more chances from this superiority and ball wins? Yes, maybe.
“So the energy is right, the quality is right, and the result is the result. Today it wasn’t in our favour.”
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