Tuc-hell as Chelsea boss concedes they are out of Premier League title race

BY PAUL LAGAN
paul@slpmedia.co.uk

Thomas Tuchel has dismissed Chelsea’s chances of winning the Premier League.

The Blues are in second place but trail rampant Manchester City by eight points.

Liverpool, one point behind the west Londoners in third place, visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Tuchel claims Covid and injuries have put paid to their chances but, in reality, it was their inability to see off the likes of Southampton, Burnley, Manchester United and Everton at home that has seen them slip off top spot.

Those drawn matches – if converted into wins – would have seen the Blues level with Pep Guardiola’s City slickers.

And Wednesday’s disappointing 1-1 draw against Brighton should have seen them go clear.

The Blues suffered a 90th-minute setback after Romelu Lukaku had put Chelsea into a winning position.

Tuchel complained about referee Mike Dean’s performance when he failed to give his charges a penalty, but cited Covid and injuries as the real cause for the position they find themselves in.

Asked about Chelsea’s title credentials, he responded: “How should we be in it? We have seven Covid cases. We have five or six players out for six or more weeks. How should we compete in a title race?

“Everyone else who has a full squad, everybody in training has the full power to come through this league.”

Chelsea face a defensive crisis for Sunday. Reece James, Thiago Silva and Andreas Christensen are all out. As is Ben Chilwell, who will miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury.

The Blues will also lose Senegal international goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to the African Cup of Nations after the visit of the Merseysiders.

Striker Timo Werner is still struggling to regain fitness.

Tuchel said: “He is not good, not good in training – due to Covid.”

“Reece James has a hamstring injury and it is a back injury for Andreas Christensen.

“It was clear we would struggle. We have simply way too many players with whom we don’t know what we can demand. We have long injuries, they come from Covid, I simply don’t know what they are capable of doing.

“We started very, very well until the injury for Reece James, which was a huge blow. Andreas was until then one of the top players on the pitch.”

One returning player from injury is N’Golo Kante, and it’s one bright spot for Tuchel.

“With Kante on the pitch, we were again much better, and had huge chances,” he said.

Chelsea’s latest reported accounts saw them lose £145.6million for the financial year ending in June – having made a profit of £39.5m in the previous 12 months.

TV income was a major contributor that saw a turnover of £416.8m but matchday income was destroyed due to Covid forcing matches behind closed doors.