Tuchel relieved as Bellingham avoids red card

THOMAS Tuchel admitted that Jude Bellingham was “lucky” to escape a red card as England “struggled” to secure a 3-0 win against minnows Latvia on Monday.

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THOMAS Tuchel admitted that Jude Bellingham was "lucky" to escape a red card as England "struggled" to secure a 3-0 win against minnows Latvia on Monday.

Just two days after claiming that Bellingham can be "very emotional" and needed to control his mood on the pitch, the Real Madrid star was fortunate not to be sent off in the World Cup qualifier at Wembley.

After being booked in the first half, Bellingham avoided a second yellow card despite crunching into a crude challenge on Raivis Jurkovskis soon after the interval.

England boss Tuchel responded by sending on Phil Foden to replace the midfielder moments later to ensure he was not given his marching orders.

"A bit lucky. We took straight away the decision to not take the risk and take him off," Tuchel said.

Leading through Reece James's superb first half free-kick, England were struggling to kill off stubborn Latvia when Bellingham was substituted.