Thomas Tuchel admits 'tired' Chelsea were fortunate to survive Sheffield United scare
By Tom Gott
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confessed his side are struggling physically after they were made to dig in during Sunday's 2-0 win over Sheffield United.
The Blues looked in control in the first half, dominating possession without creating any real opportunities, but United grew into the game as the clock ticked on and were far superior after the break, even creating enough clear-cut chances to win the FA Cup quarter-final.
Chelsea held on and recorded their club-record seventh consecutive clean sheet, but Tuchel confessed after the game that there was more than a touch of good fortune about this result.
"I could feel a bit after the game against Atletico that we were a bit tired and I could feel that it was a huge effort also mentally against Atletico," Tuchel said (via the club's official website).
"After that it was a big relief and then there were a lot of team changes made by me. Then you have players leaving right now for international duty so there are a lot of things to organise, many unclear situations, so there was a moment yesterday when we prepared the match and again today where I did not feel 100% comfortable or sure we could continue on the same level.
"So I spoke to the team before and said let’s not over-expect from ourselves. Do a serious performance to control the match, work hard for it, and take the little details seriously. The target this week was to go to the quarter-final [in the Champions League] and to Wembley, and the team achieved both targets so a big well done to them."
Chelsea faced the game without striker Tammy Abraham or goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, neither of whom made the matchday squad, and Tuchel revealed that both have been dealing with issues which should be resolved after the international break.
Mendy is scheduled to undergo surgery on a dental problem, but Abraham continues to struggle with an ankle injury which has kept him sidelined for the last six games in all competitions.
"[Abraham] quit training yesterday after only five minutes, during the warm-up, so there was no chance that he could join the squad," Tuchel continued. "It is still more or less the same injury. He had a bit of a re-injury in a training accident, exactly on the same spot where the first injury was so he is in pain, and there was no chance he could join us today.
"Firstly he needs to be fit and then secondly take it step by step to good training performances and fight his way back. The way back for him then is to maybe be a substitute and to be hungry to show quality in training. Now is not the moment to worry about being in the first 11 because he is out now unfortunately for too many games, and it is absolutely not his fault.
"He is hungry to come back and tries all the time but this is the risk also in pushing the players to be back as soon as possible. It was an accident in training because we thought he is already in the squad today and it is nobody’s fault. Now it is kind of a restart and I hope he can use the two weeks to get fit again. This is the most important thing right now."
