Chelsea news: We have no foot in the final, says Thomas Tuchel ahead of Spurs clash

Chelsea might have won the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur 2-0, but the Blues manager Thomas Tuchel is not getting carried away with the advantage they have. He is of the opinion that his team needs to be prepared for anything when taking on Spurs in the second leg. Currently, the Blues lead the tie 2-0 after Kai Havertz’s early strike and an own goal by Ben Davies gave Chelsea FC the victory in the first match at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday. “I would actually say we have no foot in the final,” Tuchel was quoted as saying by their club’s website. “Why would you think about whether we have one foot or half a foot, why would you use energy thinking about this? We play another tough match in a tough stadium against a very good team and a top coach.

“So we need to be prepared and it’s maybe better not to expect too much because nobody knows what is going to happen. We need to be fully aware of everything and we need to adapt to the situations that happen to us on the pitch. Anything can happen in football, we want to make it happen on our side. If problems or obstacles occur, it’s our duty to respond, to show reactions and this is what we do. I’m very sure that everybody knows we play a very important match in a derby against Tottenham, a big stadium, a big club and a very competitive coach on the other side. So we need our best level.”

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We have to be spot on: Tuchel

Tuchel agrees that their performance in the first leg was “very good”, but has warned his players that the earlier result is in the past now, as he wants them to repeat it again. “Of course we want to control the match and try to attack as much as possible. We had a very good match in the first leg but it’s over, it’s the past, and we expect the best possible Tottenham side. We prepared in the best possible manner for the first match, we will do this again and then we have to be spot on tomorrow, forget the first game, forget the first result and do it again,” he added.

“We trust ourselves. We always prepare properly and we are always on the front foot and we have huge respect for the competition, we have big respect for all our opponents, we have respect for the game. If you respect the game and respect the talent and the opportunities that we have, it’s our obligation to be prepared.

“I have trust in me, in my staff and also in my team, my players. This is what we do, this is what we are used to, to arrive well-prepared, otherwise you have no chance to win consistently and to win on that level. We proved it, that’s why I think we can allow ourselves to trust on this one, that we have the right attitude. If we have the attitude right then we will have the game right. We had a good result in the first leg because we had a good game and it was a good win, but now it starts from scratch.”