Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TUCHEL: THE BIG TWO DON’T LOSE AT HOME TO BRENTFORD
THOMAS TUCHEL knows Chelsea have not closed the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool in the way many expected they would after lifting the Champions League trophy last season.
But the Blues boss insists there is no shame in their season if, as expected, they still finish in the top four. “We tried hard to close the gap,” said the German. “I could say that I tried everything and I would say that everybody in the building tried everything, the players as well, but there is room for improvement.
“The gap is big, but we are competing with maybe the two most successful teams that ever played in this league, so the stakes are high.
“Given the last two defeats at home, the gap is bigger than it should be and before that it was bigger than it should be.
“But that was due to circumstances, not due to our effort or quality or whatever. The effort is there, the ambition is there. We have seen now dramatically in the games against Brentford and Arsenal why the gap is that big to City and Liverpool.
“They don’t have these defeats in their season. We are ninth in the home table, we conceded late goals against Burnley and Everton, and these were games where we dominated and had big chances.
“Now we have to be the best we can be and we will be ready for a good fight from next season on.
“But we should not feel ashamed or disappointed because it is very tough to finish in the top four. The top two are relentless in their results.
“We are more fragile at the moment. But when we have played against Liverpool since I’ve been here, the gap is very, very close and we give them a hard time. It is the consistency in the performance.
“If you look at the individual performance tables – the goalscorers and the assists at the top of the league – you find a lot of the Liverpool players.
“We struggle to have these kind of numbers.”