Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel does not believe his public criticism of his players has had a negative impact.

The German said his players were 'soft' after last week's loss to Southampton.

The Blues suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League group stage opener on Tuesday.

"It's a bit of a game you play when you say I was so super critical," Tuchel said, via the Evening Standard. "I said we need to toughen up in set pieces and in challenges. This, for me, is not super critical. You ask me a question and I give you an answer.

"It depends a little bit what you make of it. I don't think you lose a player. If you lose with Chelsea against Southampton in the way that we lost with a set piece with a goal against seven eight nine players in defence, of course you need to toughen up.

"It is simply a reality. I don't see that this is a big issue. I think that I use the word we a lot and this word includes me, so I don't see a point where I lose the team and I answer your questions."