Thomas Tuchel was back at Cobham today to deliver his usual Friday press conference ahead of a weekend game, this weekend Chelsea take a trip to Southampton with an important 3 points up for grabs as Chelsea try to finish in the Top 4. Tuchel admits in this conference he is still very confident that Chelsea will do that as Chelsea are currently 3rd in the table, here is 5 Talking Points from the conference.
Tuchel indicates angry meeting was held after Real Madrid result :
” It was not a discussion meeting yesterday, I gave my point of view, which is sometimes necessary “
Tuchel further indicated this meeting was about the game and what the team did wrong and that in this moment he had a right to be angry, hopefully this will serve as a wake up call for the team as simply the last 2 performances have been awful, conceding 7 goals in 2 games under Tuchel is unheard of.
Tuchel delivers worrying news on Hudson Odoi :
Tuchel confirmed that Hudson Odoi is looking at weeks rather than days as he continues to suffer from an Achilles injury, it has stopped his season when he was getting in form, Tuchel mentioned his assist in the Club World Cup Final and the fact that he had played well as a LWB and LW. Furthermore, Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech are doubts for tomorrow, with a late test to decide if either will be involved.
N’golo Kante struggling due to injuries and fasting :
N’golo Kante is a player that is loved by Chelsea fans but even hardcore Kante supporters will admit that his influence this season has been minuscule compared to previous seasons, a poor performance against Brentford and fans were not too worried and simply expecting another outstanding UCL Performance against a Real Madrid midfield that he dominated last season, however that was not the case as Chelsea’s midfield was left with so much open space and time for Madrid to dominate.
Here is what Tuchel said when asked about Kante today :
” I can honestly not answer the question. It can be an ongoing debate and nobody will know. N’Golo is a key player and has outstanding qualities. He can give things to a team no one else can “
” He struggles this season due to injuries and illness. This is a reason for some of our consistency, of course. At the moment, he is fasting due to his religion and belief. He is not doing it for the first time but if you do not eat or drink for many days during the day, it can be an effect. But maybe it’s part of the explanation of maybe why we had the feeling he is not on his highest level ”
” He is a key player with unique qualities. So we try to help him because we know what we have when he is on the pitch ”
Southampton could be the perfect opponent according to Tuchel :
Tuchel thinks that in some ways, tomorrow’s opponent is perfect for Chelsea to return back to winning ways due to their style of play, suggesting that the blues will not be allowed to sleep tomorrow.
” If you turn it around like this, yeah. They will not let us sleep. They either player a 4-4-2 with a high and heavy pressing line that the usually play. In the cup game, they played a back five with man-marking across the whole pitch. We’ve looked at some things from both matches, both matches were high quality and very active ”
” The schedule is the schedule. It’s demanding but maybe it’s good. There is no other way of accepting this physicality otherwise we will be under the wheels ”
Tuchel and his team have clearly analysed Ralph Hassenhutl’s men and they will be hoping for a solid away victory tomorrow infront of travelling Chelsea supporters, a victory tomorrow brings much needed confidence ahead of the second leg vs Real Madrid where they will need to overturn a 2 goal deficit.
Lukaku still struggling to find his best form :
Romelu Lukaku has been a topic of debate over the last few months, a notoriously ruthless goal machine, it has not clicked yet for him in a Chelsea shirt which was highlighted by his header miss inside the penalty box against Real Madrid which if he scored, would have made the tie 2-3, and an easier deficit to turn around on Tuesday, Tuchel was asked about his form :
” After the international break, we had the feeling we are all lacking shape. Romelu had one good chance and a very big chance. Nothing else helps more than goals, it would’ve been a huge moment for him ”
That’s it for this week’s talking points from Thomas Tuchel’s press conference, make sure to look out for the full transcript on Football.London
