Thomas Tuchel has criticised the Premier League for putting his coronavirus-hit Chelsea side at “huge risk” by forcing them to play at Wolves on Sunday as leaders Manchester City put Newcastle to the sword.
Chelsea drew 0-0 at Molineux while City eased to a 4-0 away win before Tottenham held 10-man Liverpool to a 2-2 draw, denting the Reds’ title hopes.
But the action on the pitch was overshadowed by Britain’s worsening Covid-19 crisis, with just four games played in total out of 10 originally scheduled.
Premier League clubs will meet on Monday to discuss what action to take over the chaos, with growing questions over the integrity of the competition as the busy festive period looms.
The Athletic reported that clubs would discuss whether to postpone an entire round of fixtures on December 28, 29, and 30 in an attempt to ease the pressure.
Chelsea, who had their request for a postponement rejected, could only field 14 outfield players in their matchday squad on Sunday, with N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, and Trevoh Chalobah all featuring despite struggling for match fitness.
“We were put in a huge risk of health and safety to the players, not just because of Covid but also physically,” said an angry Tuchel, whose side mustered just one shot on target.
Tuchel, whose stuttering team are now six points behind leaders City, said he did not know what would happen with Chelsea’s fixtures against Brentford in the League Cup and Aston Villa in the coming week.
“I’ve got no idea what happens now,” he said. “We had an idea (on Saturday evening) what’s going to happen, but then that didn’t happen.”