Gaffer Thomas Tuchel speaking on Chelsea as title contenders:
“To be totally honest, I see us as the number four, that cannot be the favourite in the next year. They have to close the gap to three, two and one.“
Chelsea cruised to a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. Without record signing Lukaku, Chelsea were still rarely troubled. Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and youngster Trevoh Chalobah found the net.
The boss told his side to hunt down Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool in pursuit of the Premier League title. Tuchel has won 20 of his 32 games as Chelsea coach since taking over from Frank Lampard in January.
Since then, he has led his new side to European glory in May, a fourth place in last season’s Premier League and a UEFA Super Cup in midweek.
The next challenge awaiting the German is domestic success. With a commanding win over Palace, the Blues showed why they are not to be taken lightly.
However, even with the big-money inclusion of Romelu Lukaku to their ranks for the new campaign, the boss denied the Blues were in the title race this season. He went on to insist that they were fourth favourites to lift the trophy next May.
Tuchel – Consistency is Key for Chelsea
“We said during the campaign in the last half-year we set the bar high and look to close gaps during 90 minutes, and that’s what we’ll try to continue.” Tuchel said.
He added that they would need to repeat the feat week in and week out. They would try to be the best in every game or competition they play. Winning the Champions League as underdogs was a different scene altogether.
Tuchel continued saying that this was the Premier League. Chelsea would need the same hard work, dedication and intensity to compete with the teams at the top. It was up to them to reach the highest level on a permanent basis.
For more sports updates, make sure to follow us on:
