Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has suggested that he learned valuable lessons during his side's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City earlier in the season.
The Blues went into the game on September 25 having enjoyed a strong start to the campaign, but they were deservedly edged out by a team who they had defeated in the Champions League final four months earlier.
Speaking ahead of the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, Tuchel acknowledged that he adopted the wrong tactics, arguably a hint over how he intends to approach a crucial game in the Premier League title race.
At his pre-match press conference, Tuchel told reporters: "My approach was the wrong approach, tactically. It made us too passive. We could have done better, but the approach was too defensive.
"It was not meant like this, but it turned out like this. Lesson learned. They were too aggressive for our build-up play, and they were too aggressive. We did not have the solution to escape from our own half.
"We defended very well in the last 18 to 20 metres of the field, but we did not see much of the other 70 metres. Second half was a bit better, a bit wild, but it is not the worst thing to have a wild match against Manchester City."
Chelsea head into Saturday's encounter trailing City by 10 points in the top-flight standings.
Darren Plant
