Chelsea news: Thomas Tuchel says they were ‘lucky’ last weekend

Chelsea will be keen to get back to the top of the Premier League table – a position they occupied for the most part of the current season. Standing in their way is a clash against Everton on Thursday night. The Blues are five points behind leaders Manchester City but have a game in hand. If they win their midweek clash, they will be within two points of City in the league standings. Considering City’s current form, it will be difficult to leapfrog them in the table as Pep Guardiola’s side are flying high in recent matches. Man City won 7-0 on Tuesday against a clueless Leeds United side. Hence, Thomas Tuchel spoke about how difficult it will be to mount a genuine title race and their latest situation should not come as a surprise.

“Not long ago it was the opposite position and Man City turned things around,” Tuchel says, as per their club’s website. “At the moment they have good form and they show their quality. There was never a doubt they have the quality. For years they show this consistency and know what it takes to be in the title race, with Liverpool. Both teams have no injury issues at the moment and this helps a lot but we knew before that if we demand from ourselves to compete with City and Liverpool for the title that we will face adversity, and we will face tough moments.”

Tuchel: We should not say sorry for a late victory

An injury time penalty by Jorginho helped Chelsea defeat Leeds United 3-2 in the Premier League at the weekend. “This was clear before so we cannot be surprised now and we cannot give in. We were lucky last weekend. We did not feel so blessed with luck when we played at West Ham and went out with a defeat. We absolutely did not have the luck on our side when we played a draw against Burnley, so we should not say sorry for a late victory. We found a way to win this game against Leeds and the next game is in front of us against Everton. We play at home and we do what is needed to have the possibility to win three points,” he stated.

Under Tuchel, Chelsea were known for their abilities to defend solidly and keep a lot of clean sheets in the process. However, the number of goals the Blues conceded in the recent matches might concern Tuchel. “To keep clean sheets when you play these kinds of competitions you need also luck, you need an extraordinary goalkeeper, you need a certain momentum, and this is what we had in the beginning of the season,” he says. “One goal is always possible even if you do everything right but three, three and two is a bit too much to be honest.

“But we’re on it. It makes you appreciate how hard we worked before, what it takes to be so consistent in not conceding and we want to get back on track. Maybe it shows us how much details matter, how much individual top level in every situation matters. Hopefully we get this consistency in not conceding back into our game. This is crucial if you want to win consecutive football matches on this level.”