Mateo Kovacic with a stunner and Christian Pulisic with another quality strike ensured what had looked destined to be a 2-0 deficit at the interval in Sunday’s game was 2-2 by the time the teams returned to the dressing rooms at half-time, and that is how the score remained despite a second half that was anything but dull or devoid of scoring chances.Tuchel was asked to consider the magnitude of the team’s response to such a shaky situation early in the game.‘Not only the response but also the start, we were so strong from the very start and that made it even harder to be 2-0 down, we got the feeling we should be 2-0 up,’ he responded.

‘We were punished for two or three big mistakes at the beginning. Going 2-0 down, it would be easy to say things would be hard and perhaps it would not be our day but the guys stuck in and showed a fantastic attitude to get back into the game.

‘It [being 2-0 behind] makes things against Liverpool super tough. It's a big match against a big opponent full of individual quality and energy, so given the circumstances and where we had come from, how we played was exceptional with high ball recoveries, chances and transition. We could even be a bit more clinical to maybe create even more, but coming back from 2-0 was immense, and there are no worries except for the result. It was a brilliant match of football.‘Kova scored an amazing goal,’ he added, ‘and it really brought the belief back into the stadium. We showed the quality to get back level through Christian.’Tuchel did however believe Liverpool’s opening goalscorer, Sadio Mane, should have been shown a red card rather than a yellow for an elbow-up challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta only seconds after the game began.

‘I’m not a fan of early red cards and I’m a big fan of Mane because he’s a top guy and fantastic player, but I’m sorry – it was simply a red card,’ he stated.The big news an hour earlier than that controversial incident was a team announcement missing Romelu Lukaku.Pre kick-off Tuchel explained he had left the striker out due to ‘too much noise’ around the reporting of an interview the striker had given to Italian TV, which was distracting from the focus on the Liverpool game.‘It is not Chelsea-like but it's also not the worst thing in the world and it's not the first time that an interview out there causes some noise that nobody needs,’ Tuchel added after the game.‘I don't feel personally attacked. I don't feel personally angry but the noise was too big on Friday. We took the decision to delay the decision, also to protect Romelu from a rash decision, because we need to speak, we need to read the full interview, to stay calm and not lose our head. It was simply the decision to protect the preparation for a match like this. So it was clear he will not be in the squad, he will not play, and from there on there was a bit more focus to play a match like this.’

Manager and player now have a Monday meeting to discuss the matter further, with our next game versus Tottenham in a cup match coming quickly on Wednesday.‘We need to evaluate the situation and not listen to the media and not listen to the pressure but understand what he said, which is why there is the meeting tomorrow,’ Tuchel reported.‘From there we will take the decision. If the decision is he is good to go for Wednesday, this is the decision, but I cannot tell you right now because we need to talk and understand the situation better and then from there we go once the situation is clear. There is no doubt he will stay our player and we will also protect our player.’