Thomas Tuchel conducted his press conference ahead of Chelsea’s UCL quarter final match against Real Madrid tomorrow night at Stamford Bridge, here’s the most important bits from it :
Tuchel left out Andreas Christensen against Brentford for tactical reasons :
Interestingly, Tuchel revealed that Christensen was benched against Brentford because Chelsea played a back 4 and not a 3, personally I believe Christensen is good in a back 4 but that’s quite the statement from Tuchel to indirectly admit that maybe he doesn’t fancy Andreas in a back 4. Tuchel also talked about Christensen’s future :
“ He should not forget where he came from. It’s just my opinion. The talks in summer were constant. I hope my talks didn’t make him want to leave, but I don’t think so. You cannot take this personal.
“If he decides to leave, it’s his decision. Until he is our player, he is our player. He needs to be fully, fully committed. You have to ask him, his reasons for the decision.”
Mateo Kovacic gets heavily praised :
Mateo Kovacic has arguably been up there for Chelsea’s POTS so far, when he doesn’t play, Chelsea lack creativity in midfield which is something we didn’t previously associate with Kovacic, he’s added that to his game alongside his long list of attributes that he had already, here’s what Tuchel said in the conference :
“I think he is still completing his journey, He looks like a wonderkid in training in some exercises. Today he had an outstanding training session and is a fantastic character “
“A lovely guy, a humble guy, and so interested in sports. He’s so happy to train and deliver for the team. It’s a true pleasure “
“ Even at Real Madrid, I was aware of his talent and I felt there was a next step coming. I’m very happy that he’s my player and plays a lot this season. He is crucial to us on the pitch and off the pitch in the way he behaves “
Tuchel says the fans need to be better tomorrow :
It was eerily quiet at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, it took an Antonio Rudiger screamer to wake the fans up, I was there, it was strange, and it looks like Tuchel noticed it too :
“ We need to be better and the fans need to be better aswell “
Via @NizaarKinsella
The full transcript of Tuchel’s press conference can be found at @AdamNewson on Twitter, and also quotes from Christian Pulisic.
