Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel savaged by BT Sport pundits Jermaine Jenas, Joe Cole and Francis Benali

Chelsea fell to a surprise 2-1 defeat against Southampton on Tuesday evening, despite taking a first-half lead.

The Blues, who are yet to win a point on the road this season, were overwhelmed by the aggression and energy of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team.

Raheem Sterling gave Chelsea the lead early in the first half, but the Blues failed to take advantage of their continued dominance to extend their lead. When the pendulum swung back in favour of Southampton, Thomas Tuchel’s side were helpless to stop them as goals from Adam Armstrong and Romeo Lavia gave them a 2-1 half-time lead.

After the break, Chelsea failed to produce any major chances, and Southampton looked as likely to score.

Following the match, BT Sport’s pundits heavily criticised Chelsea and manager Tuchel.

Joe Cole, who won six trophies and made nearly 300 appearances for the Blues, was particularly critical. He said: “Tuchel is going to have a lot of questions to answer.”

Cole continued: “It was as poor a performance as I’ve seen from a Chelsea side under Thomas Tuchel. I can’t remember a chance in the second half.”

The former Chelsea winger also questioned Tuchel’s attacking organisation. He said: “Havertz did not look comfortable.”

Fellow pundit Jermaine Jenas was confused by the Blues’ underwhelming display. He said: “Whatever he was searching for from the players, it just wasn’t there.”

Tuchel deployed his Chelsea team in a back four for the second time in as many games, but his team looked disjointed and confused. Cole went on: “They looked a bit off it. There was no cohesion.”

Southampton legend and fellow member of the BT commentary team Francis Benali agreed. He simply said: “They weren’t at it.”

The Chelsea manager was largely in agreement with the pundits’ criticisms. Tuchel said: “We struggle with our focus and consistency. One thing goes against us and we struggle to find answers, we struggle to find out way back. It does not take a lot to beat us. This is what I don’t like. It’s something we need to understand as fast as possible and to change.”

Tuchel continued, explaining that individual errors are to blame. “Lack of concentration is too high.”

In his post-match press conference, Tuchel went even further. He said: “It is too easy to put us off balance, to beat us, to confuse us. It is too easy. It happened against Leeds. We need to understand why and find solutions. It is too easy to beat us.”

To add injury to insult, Ruben Loftus-Cheek limped off with what was later said to be a hamstring injury. Cole said: “Ruben’s arguably been Chelsea’s best player at the start of the season.”

However, Cole admitted that the Blues have the resources to deal with injury. He added: “Nobody’s going to be crying any tears for Chelsea, the squad’s huge.”

Chelsea face a London derby against West Ham next. Having lost three of their opening five matches, Cole impressed upon the audience the importance of the West Ham match. He said: “Already, this early in the season, it’s a must win game.”

With the transfer window still open, Chelsea have the option of spending their way out of this trouble. Cole suggested that further signings are required. He said: “The squad needs reinvigorating.”