Thomas
Tuchel says things "got heated" between Antonio Rudiger and Kepa
Arrizabalaga during a Chelsea training session on Sunday before the pair
"cleared the air" immediately.
As first reported by the Daily Telegraph, tempers flared at Cobham the day
after Chelsea's shock 5-2 defeat by West Brom on Saturday, a result that
ended their 14-match unbeaten start under Tuchel.
Rudiger was sent to the changing rooms after a late tackle on Kepa caused
some pushing and shoving between the pair, but he later apologised to his
team-mate.
Speaking at a press conference before the first leg of his side's Champions
League quarter-final against Porto on Wednesday, Chelsea head coach Tuchel
said: "It had nothing to do with the defeat.
"It was serious. It was an incident in training and it got heated between
Toni and Kepa, so we calmed the situation down immediately.
"These are things we don't want to accept but these things can happen in
little games, in little groups. They are all competitors and they want to
win training matches."
Tuchel added neither Rudiger nor Kepa will be punished after the players
immediately sorted it out between themselves.
"The reaction was not OK, but how the guys handled the situation was amazing
and showed how much respect they have for each other," he said.
"They sorted it out directly and cleared the air immediately. We spoke about
the issue and then it was solved.
"They sorted it out straight after training in a very humble and direct way,
and it showed me they have very good characters."
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