PART OF THE GAME
Tuchel says it will take time to catch up with Pep’s champs
THOMASTUCHEL reckons he and Jurgen Klopp are perfectly placed to lead Chelsea and Liverpool’s pursuit of Manchester City given their experiences chasing Bayern Munich at Borussia Dortmund.
City dominate English football in much the same way the boys from Bavaria boss the Bundesliga.
But twice Klopp masterminded Dortmund title triumphs and
Tuchel is convinced he was on track to do the same before he was sacked after two seasons in charge.
Today at Stamford Bridge both will hope for the result that just keeps them on City’s coattails, and Chelsea boss Tuchel will do everything in his power to cut the lead of Pep Guardiola’s side.
He said: “As long as I’m here in my ‘Borussia Chelsea’, I will do nothing else than make other teams underperform.
“We will even try to make Manchester City underperform.we will not stop and Jurgen, I’m pretty sure, will do the same to get the best out of Liverpool.
“And we will not stop chasing, we will not stop believing. Maybe the difference to the situation right now in the Bundesliga is that at Chelsea we have the belief.
“We are next in that race but it’s a big gap in points and goals scored. I said when I arrived we have to close the gap as soon as possible and this will not stop.
“Maybe it’s longer than a one-season race to catch City because they will not stop improving. But the huge difference at this moment is the situation with injuries and Covid.
“I am convinced if we are in the same place without injuries, and having key players not out for weeks and being hit by Covid so hard at the same time, we would have more points.
“Everything maybe needs to fall into place for us so that we can produce the kind of consistent level that City, and normally Liverpool, can produce.
“That’s why there’s no need to get negative, no need to lose faith. The opposite – we will stay hungry.
“Jurgen did it with Dortmund. We came close and were stopped unfortunately in the middle of the process.
“So both of us know how to catch favourites and we will not stop doing it or trying to do it.”
Tuchel has huge respect for what City have achieved and added: “It’s quality all over the club, not only in the squad but also management and how the club is run. It is a winning machine.
“They have five, six years now of consistency.that makes it hard, it does not make it impossible.
“We will never stop believing and stop pushing but we have to be realistic and in the moment we struggle.”
Three draws and a defeat last month cost
Chelsea as injuries and illness savaged
Tuchel’s squad.
He added: “It has been pretty challenging. There’s a lot going on, I have to admit, but we are here for the challenge.
“Things are easier if you have results – the noise is not so loud, the distractions not so heavy.
“It is about some heavy influences around us that we cannot control.”