Thomas Tuchel has told Chelsea's players there will be no time to celebrate if they beat Leicester City in the FA Cup final… because they must immediately begin preparations for another crunch clash with the same opponents.

The Blues have the opportunity to garnish their impressive recovery under Tuchel with some silverware at Wembley on Saturday.

However, a lacklustre 1-0 loss to Arsenal in midweek leaves their top-four hopes in the balance.

They slipped behind Leicester and are now fourth in the standings, knowing Liverpool could be just a point behind them by the time they host Brendan Rodgers' side on Tuesday.

"There are no celebrations, no celebrations planned. These are special times," Tuchel told reporters.

"If we win there's nothing planned. It's a bit too close that we play on Tuesday again.

"The situation in the league does not allow us to celebrate. We have two finals coming up and want to win both of them.

"Tomorrow will have a huge physical impact and we need to be ready on Sunday to do a good recovery session and on Monday to prepare for the next games.

"If there are celebrations, we need to delay them to a little bit later."

Tuchel has a mixed record in finals, winning the DFB-Pokal with Borussia Dortmund in 2016-17, having lost on penalties to Bayern Munich in the domestic showpiece 12 months earlier.

He won the 2019-20 Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue, having lost – again on penalties to Rennes – in the final of the former a year earlier. However, a 1-0 defeat to Bayern in last August's Champions League final prevented a clean sweep.

"It's very hard to learn from one final to the next final, because you never know how many years or months in between. Your opponent is different, your team is maybe different," said the 47-year-old, who will lead Chelsea in the Champions League final against Manchester City later this month.

"A general rule is that the more tension, the more decisive character that a game has, the less new information you give. You have short, clear sessions.

"It's not the moment to learn new stuff and implement new tactical tricks. It's the moment to be confident and to be well aware what is our style of play, what are our strengths and encourage the players to be on their top level."

At Dortmund, Tuchel explained his attempts to lighten the mood for such occasions extended to him playing as a goalkeeper in training.

"I gave a lot of confidence to my players," he chuckled, having confirmed the far more able Kepa Arrizabalaga will be between the posts for Chelsea in the final.

"Laughter is always very, very welcome, but if you try hard to make the group smile it will not happen. It has to come naturally. If you don't feel it, don't do it

"The tension will grow once you arrive at Wembley. There will be a certain energy that maybe you cannot prepare for. Adapt to it, go for it and embrace the challenge.

"It's normal to be excited and nervous."

In terms of his own preparations when it comes to dealing with those nerves, Tuchel revealed he practices meditation.

"Just 20 minutes, breathe in, breathe out and try hard to do nothing," he added.

"Some years ago I came into this. It helped me, it was a nice experience when I was between coaching Mainz and Dortmund.

"Sometimes I'm very disciplined and do it twice and day, sometimes I am not so disciplined for weeks."

Discipline will be a watchword for Chelsea this weekend – especially immediately after full-time if they manage to secure the club's ninth FA Cup.

Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea face "two finals" against Leicester City over the course of four days that could do much to define their revival under his leadership.

The Blues have been a team reborn since Tuchel succeeded Frank Lampard as head coach in January and Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley is their first of two shots they have at silverware – the other coming in the Champions League final against Manchester City in Porto at the end of this month.

Chelsea and Leicester will reconvene on Tuesday with qualification for next season's Champions League still on the line, especially after contrasting fortunes in their most recent fixtures.

Leicester won 2-1 at Manchester United to move ahead of Chelsea in fourth, who went down to a lacklustre 1-0 derby loss at home to Arsenal.

Liverpool, who also beat United in their match at Old Trafford on Thursday, could be one point behind Chelsea by the time Tuchel's men are back in league action and he lamented his team's failure to be "decisive" in the Arsenal game.

"Obviously I cannot judge it," he said when asked which game was more important. "These are two finals and we do not think about anything else but the two finals.

"It's a final for the cup, it's a final for the top four. We missed a chance against Arsenal to be decisive and now we have to cope with it – first of all to show a reaction at Wembley and have the upper hand when it comes to Tuesday."

Tuchel took his share of the blame immediately after Emile Smith Rowe was gifted the only goal by a dire Jorginho backpass at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, and he conceded his irritation at the result had not quite subsided.

"'I still have a hangover from the last defeat, it's always like this. I'm a bit more in angry mode, not at myself or the players but because of the result and the opportunity we missed," he explained.

"I will hopefully transform that to a good preparation and push the team to the edge to play sharp. We have to show a reaction, it's the FA Cup final at Wembley.

"I am fully focused to prepare my team better than two days ago."

On Thursday, the Champions League final was relocated from Istanbul to Porto due to Turkey being on the UK government's "red list" for travel in relation to COVID-19 restrictions.

Tuchel insists his squad should not be paying any attention to an eagerly anticipated fixture still two weeks away.

"I'm happy to go to Porto, I'm happy to go to a final. That's the easy answer - I would go anywhere to play a final," he said.

"But right now the bigger challenge is to forget the Champions League final and to be fully focused on our two finals that are ahead of us.

"We cannot lose one percentage of concentration and focus. We did this the last game against Arsenal and we got punished for it. Lesson learned and well accepted."

Kepa Arrizabalaga will keep his place at Wembley as Chelsea's cup goalkeeper and Tuchel confirmed Mateo Kovacic was fit to feature again after a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

"It's huge because Mateo has everything we need in the midfield," he added. 'Experience, power, he can beat players, he has physical ability and has played big games in the Premier League. 

"When we missed N'Golo [Kante] and Mateo, we lacked a lot of quality, energy and experience.

"Billy [Gilmour] did a huge job in huge games but it's not fair to compare him to these players because they have more experience and are a step ahead in their development. 

"It's big news that [Kovacic] is back because he's a big guy in the dressing room around important matches."

Antonio Rudiger is no stranger to putting himself in difficult and painful situations for the cause, as evidenced by the defensive lynchpin of Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea revival sporting a protective face mask during matches over recent weeks.

Nevertheless, even as a player who appears to relish a challenge and refuse to back down from a confrontation, Chelsea playing behind closed doors might have done Rudiger a favour earlier in the year.

The Stamford Bridge faithful, for all the success lapped up during the Roman Abramovich era, are certainly not shy when it comes to voicing their displeasure over an unpopular change in the dugout, of which there have been plenty.

There was the vocal backing for Roberto Di Matteo weeks after his sacking in 2012. Interim boss Rafael Benitez was the villain in that situation but calling out any perceived culprits among a squad often noted for wielding player power has also marked times of tumult.

When Jose Mourinho's second spell at Chelsea ended with the then-reigning Premier League champions lurching close to the relegation zone in December 2015, he was backed by plenty of fans amid accusations of player betrayal. One banner in the ground famously branded Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa to be "The 3 Rats".

Had stadiums been full around the time of Frank Lampard's January demise, it is possible Rudiger would have faced similar scrutiny.

"There have been so many nonsense rumours around about me since last week," he told The Athletic in February, following speculation that urged the Chelsea board to dispense with Lampard. "I've never talked with the board about the situation of the coach or on any other topics."

In a separate interview with Sky Sports, Rudiger explained he suffered "immense" racist abuse online after Lampard's sacking, both an indication of the levels of toxicity at play and a deplorable sign of our times.

It certainly did not feel plausible that, in the space of four months, Rudiger would be arguably the form defender in European football and leading Chelsea's charge under Tuchel for a pair of major honours, starting in Saturday's FA Cup final against Leicester.

Indeed, the most remarkable element of Rudiger being singled out as a man responsible for so many of the ills at Chelsea around the fall of Lampard was how little he had been involved in the first team.

He started two of their first 17 Premier League fixtures before being recalled in the wake of a 3-1 defeat by Manchester City to start back-to-back games against Fulham and Leicester – the latter of which was a 2-0 defeat that effectively sealed Lampard's fate.

Overall, Rudiger made nine appearances in all competitions under the former England midfielder this season, with eight of those starts. His 742 minutes on the pitch were dwarfed by first-choice duo Kurt Zouma (1,999) and Thiago Silva (1,552).

Tuchel's decision to switch Chelsea into a 3-4-2-1 shape obviously did Rudiger and his fellow centre-backs a favour in the most basic terms of one more slot in the team being available, but the Germany international has repaid his countryman's faith emphatically.

In 21 appearances since, he has been involved in a remarkable 14 clean sheets. No defender in the Premier League, or elsewhere in Europe's top five leagues for that matter, can boast more in this time.

The six goals conceded with him on the field is also the lowest across the continent's elite divisions for any defender to have started 15 or more games from January 27 onwards, which was the date of Tuchel's first game in charge – a 0-0 draw with Wolves.

Rudiger rested up for Wembley in midweek when Chelsea went down to a lacklustre 1-0 home loss to Arsenal. He was an unused substitute for the only other league defeat of Tuchel's tenure, an unhinged 5-2 collapse versus West Brom after Silva was sent off.

In the 19 Premier League games Rudiger has not started in 2020-21, Chelsea have conceded 26 goals at a rate of 1.4 per game. With the ex-Roma man in the first XI, this plummets to seven in 17 (0.4 per game).

Those seven goals have arrived over the course of 1,530 minutes on the field, meaning Rudiger has seen a goal conceded every 218.6 minutes. This is the best ratio in the Premier League for any defender to have played 1,000 minutes or more this term, with Manchester City pairing John Stones (194.9) and Ruben Dias (148.1) next on the list – suggesting the Champions League final in two weeks' time could be something of a cagey affair.

When set alongside his Chelsea central defensive colleagues Zouma, Silva and Andreas Christensen, Rudiger's imposing qualities are evident. He has made 29 tackles in the Premier League this season, an average of 1.7 per 90 minutes, with no other member of the quartet averaging above one.

His 7.1 duels per 90 is bettered by Zouma (7.6), although both have the same return when it comes to duels won (4.8).

Of course, Rudiger has starred within a collective recalibration. In the Premier League, Tuchel's Chelsea have faced an average of 7.8 shots per game at an expected goals (xG) value of 0.6, down from 10.1 and 1 under Lampard.

Adjustments beyond the defence have also made the Blues harder to play against. They control matches far more effectively, with an average of 663.6 passes per game up from 612.7 at a slightly better accuracy (87.7 per cent from 86.3).

Chelsea are also pressing opponents more effectively, allowing an average of 10.1 passes per defensive action (PPDA) under Tuchel, behind only FA Cup final foes Leicester and Leeds United across the period in question. This season with Lampard in charge, they averaged 11 PPDA, which was fourth among all Premier League teams.

The improvements have made life a little easier for defenders, but when Chelsea step out at Wembley there will be no mystery over the identity of their standout performer at centre-back – even if he is wearing a mask. Rudiger has lifted himself off the scrapheap to become Tuchel's talisman.

Thomas Tuchel shouldered the blame for Chelsea's 1-0 Premier League defeat to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

An awful backpass from Jorginho almost resulted in a comedy own goal and led directly to Emile Smith Rowe's 16th-minute winner – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang teeing up the youngster for his second goal in as many matches.

Chelsea went on to dominate for long spells, with Kurt Zouma and Olivier Giroud each hitting the bar in the final minutes.

But Tuchel rued his decision to make seven alterations to the team that beat champions Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday, potentially putting Chelsea's top four hopes back in the balance.

"It's totally our fault, nobody else. I think we lost the game, it's totally our responsibility," he told Sky Sports.

"We had huge chances. We made, more or less, an own goal. A total gift.

"Overall we were not sharp enough and we could not put up the same intensity as usual.

"It's on me. I think it was maybe too many changes from the last match. I take full responsibility for that. Maybe it's the last wake-up call for us.

"I did not feel we were involved in the same way, sharp and with intensity, like we were in the last game. These are the percentages that are missing today."

Chelsea face Leicester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday – the first of two shots at silverware this month ahead of the Champions League final on May 29.

Nevertheless, Tuchel maintained he overplayed his hand by not selecting an XI to see off Arsenal.

"We are on a good run, we had a good mood and the choices were not so good from my side for the line-up, this is on me," he continued.

"We were unlucky. You can lose these games in football and we did everything today to lose.

"I'm not happy with my line-up. There were too many changes and I should not do it like this."

Liverpool play two league games before Chelsea return to top-flight action, by which point they could have closed to within a point of Tuchel's fourth-placed side with two games remaining.

West Ham will also look to close the gap as the battle for Champions League qualification goes down to the wire.

"It's always a big fight, it never felt like a relief," Tuchel said, whose team's next Premier League outing will also be versus Leicester.

"I think it's still in our hands. We had some good results so we have to cope now with a loss."

The former Paris Saint-Germain boss removed Billy GIimour at half-time in favour of Callum Hudson-Odoi, although he insisted the decision was purely tactical and should not be viewed as a slight on the young midfielder's performance.

"It wasn't that Billy was bad, we just wanted an offensive change for tactical power," Tuchel said in his post-match news conference.

"For Billy's situation, we will talk after the season but right now he is here and doing his job. It is clear that it is very hard for him.

"We lacked N'Golo and Mateo Kovacic in midfield. It is unfair to put it all on his shoulders and he had a fantastic game against Manchester City.

"It was an okay match. He was by far not the problem."

Tuchel confirmed that Kepa Arrizabalaga was selected in goal to get him ready for a starting berth against Leicester at Wembley.

Thomas Tuchel says Chelsea are finishing the job started by an "amazing" Frank Lampard ahead of a vital few weeks for the Blues.

Chelsea boss Tuchel has been lauded for the dramatic turnaround in results he has overseen at Stamford Bridge since his January appointment.

His side will compete for FA Cup and Champions League glory against Leicester City and Manchester City this month and are in control of their own destiny in the race for a top-four finish.

Tuchel, though, was not shy in recognising the contribution made by his predecessor and fan favourite Lampard in making those opportunities for silverware possible.

"Frank had an amazing record in the group stage of the Champions League," said Tuchel, who received a good luck message from the Englishman early in his tenure but has not been in contact since.

"He won all the FA Cup games. He's laid the foundation to get us to finals and we don't feel ashamed or have any fear to speak it out loud.

"It felt like that on the first day. I am aware Frank created his own legacy as a player and made it bigger as a coach.

"We stepped in halfway through the season and tried to fulfil the job he had began.

"Frank resembles everything you think about Chelsea. You think about Frank Lampard, the way he is, how he played football.

"This shows his character and the message he sent was a pleasure to receive. We had a message a couple of days after we arrived but nothing more."

After coming from behind to defeat Manchester City for the second time in three weeks on Saturday, Chelsea now have another huge domestic clash against London rivals Arsenal on Wednesday.

Chelsea are third in the table going into that game at Stamford Bridge – five points clear of West Ham in fifth – but the Gunners are not in the hunt, as they sit ninth having also gone out of the Europa League.

Tuchel sympathised with under-pressure Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta but insisted the Gunners – who face missing out on Europe for the first time since their 1995-96 absence - remain one of the top clubs on the continent.

Chelsea go into the match as favourites and are unbeaten in their last eight home Premier League matches against Arsenal, with six wins.

"I know what I go through when we don't win: it's the most horrible situation in the whole world, no matter if you coach in the academy or professional football," said Tuchel.

"That doesn't change during the week and it's the same for everybody.

"We are fully focused on ourselves and it's not for me to comment on Arsenal's situation, but nothing surprises me about this league, you can catch a streak or get caught in any match.

"That is what we signed up for: the toughest competition in Europe.

"Arsenal are one of the biggest clubs in Europe and we will prepare for our best level."

Mateo Kovacic and Andreas Christensen are out for Chelsea, but both have a chance of playing in the upcoming finals after a positive injury update from Tuchel.

The former Paris Saint-Germain head coach is expected to rotate his squad amid a gruelling run of fixtures, but he will not prioritise one match over another.

"We have an eye on the players' workload and the statistics we have, who is overloaded and from that we will decide who has a risk of injury," Tuchel said.

"Everyone who isn't a risk will be available for the game, it is not a case of managing for the [FA Cup final] on Saturday – we are in the middle of a [top-four] race."

Arsenal won 3-1 against Chelsea on Boxing Day earlier this season and have the chance to do a league double over the Blues for the first time since their Invincibles season ended in 2004.

But Chelsea have taken more points (22) from Premier League London derby games this season than any other side, winning seven of nine, with that Arsenal loss their lone defeat in such matches.

Thomas Tuchel reiterated his belief the "unique" Champions League final stood apart from domestic meetings between Manchester City and Chelsea, but another Blues win gave his side confidence.

Three weeks on from knocking City out of the FA Cup and ending their quadruple bid, Chelsea defeated the Premier League leaders again.

Tuchel's men trailed to Raheem Sterling's goal a minute before half-time and then escaped further punishment when Sergio Aguero made a mess of a penalty moments later.

Chelsea regrouped at the break and responded with goals from Hakim Ziyech and Marcos Alonso to win 2-1.

Tuchel, who lost his first three coaching duels with Pep Guardiola in Germany but is unbeaten in four since, told Sky Sports: "Sure, it gives us confidence, because it's all about performance and confidence.

"We know very well, I've said it before and I will repeat it, that will not change the final. It's a very unique game. We cannot predict what will happen, so you need to be well prepared

"We will have some changes again and they will have some changes again, but we arrive with the knowledge that we are capable of beating them. This is what we have now and this will not change until Istanbul."

Chelsea had 43.3 per cent of the possession in the first half but 57.9 per cent in the second, while four of their five shots on target came after the restart.

Tuchel highlighted "more control" as key in their improvement, while Ziyech's goal allowed the team to get "more and more confident".

"What a performance in the second half," he said. "It was more or less an equal first half. In the last five minutes, we had to give it away completely.

"If they score the penalty, maybe it's over before it really starts. Maybe you go to half-time at 2-0 and you have no chance to come back.

"But it was very hard because we were 1-0 down and had one injured player, so I am absolutely impressed by the reaction and the performance in the second half.

"I think we even deserved to win with the performance in the second half.

"If you want to steal all three points at Etihad in this situation, after being 1-0 down, you need a bit of luck, a bit of momentum and decisions from referees. It's like this.

"But we had many, many half-chances, many chances here in the second half. Big, big congratulations to the team for the second half."

It was the first time in 10 attempts Chelsea had won after trailing at the interval in the Premier League.

The Blues had rescued just two draws since a comeback victory against Aston Villa in June 2020, losing on the other seven occasions.

Thomas Tuchel is braced for "the most difficult game" against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City as Chelsea prepare for a Champions League final dress rehearsal. 

The two clubs came through their respective semi-finals to secure an all-English showdown in Istanbul later this month, but first they will do battle in the Premier League on Saturday.

Tuchel got the better of Guardiola when the sides met in the last four of the FA Cup last month, with Chelsea running out 1-0 winners as they seek a trophy double this season.

But City have a treble in their sights as the EFL Cup winners seek a victory that would wrap up the top-flight title this weekend and Tuchel knows the Blues, fresh from Wednesday's 2-0 triumph over Real Madrid, will be up against it at the Etihad Stadium.

"If you play against Pep you know the most difficult game has arrived because he has coached the best teams in Europe and he leaves his footprint and style of play," said the German, who also took Paris Saint-Germain to last season's Champions League final.

"His teams are always super hungry to win and he transforms them into a winning machine.

"It was like this at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City. They are the benchmark in the Premier League but it is our job to close the gap for 90 minutes.

"Once you arrive against Pep you know the level is high and you have to be at your best coaching level to give your team full confidence and play at the best level.

"They are used to winning and are a very regular team at the highest level."

Chelsea have a poor recent record at City, losing on their last three trips by an aggregate score of 9-1, while the hosts have not lost at home to London opposition since 2018 against Crystal Palace.

Although none of the last 11 meetings have ended in a draw, both sides have shown an aptitude for solid defending this season, City keeping 18 clean sheets in 34 league games, while Chelsea boast 11 in 15 top-flight fixtures under Tuchel.

Asked if this domestic meeting had taken on added significance in light of the continental clash that awaits, Tuchel added: "I'm not so sure. The possibility is that they can become champions so their ambitions and determination will not be lower.

"They have the upper hand because they had one more day to recover and don't have to travel, we saw how big an impact that can have in the FA Cup.

"We have to deal with it and I think that the final in Istanbul will be pretty unique no matter what the score is tomorrow, no matter if we win or they win or if we draw. 

"I try to prepare the game in a normal way and the challenge right now is to get the tiredness out of our legs and our brains. The target is to be in good shape tomorrow and then we'll see."

One player Chelsea will be wary of is Kevin De Bruyne, who has scored four goals in against them in the Premier League – the most of any player against the Blues who had previously played for them in the competition.

Thomas Tuchel said the sacrifice of leaving his family to take on the challenge of managing Chelsea has been "worth it every single day" after making history by guiding them to the Champions League final.

The Blues progressed to the final for the third time in their history as a 2-0 win over Real Madrid clinched a 3-1 aggregate victory and a place in the Istanbul showpiece against Premier League rivals Manchester City on May 29.

In doing so, Tuchel became the first manager in the history of the Champions League and European Cup to reach the final in consecutive seasons with different teams. Tuchel led Paris Saint-Germain to the final last year, only to lose 1-0 to Bayern Munich.

Chelsea will also contest the FA Cup final against Leicester City on May 15 and hold a three-point lead over fifth-placed West Ham in the race for the Premier League top four.

Tuchel has lost only two of his 24 games (W16, D6) since taking charge in January and insists he immediately felt right at home at Stamford Bridge.

"It was worth it every single day so far," Tuchel said of the sacrifice he made.

"I was part of an amazing club from the first day, I felt huge support from day one. I'm very grateful to be at the sideline of this team."

Chelsea took a 1-0 lead through Timo Werner's simple 28th-minute header after Kai Havertz had struck the crossbar, but spurned several chances to stretch their lead as Havertz twice went close and Mason Mount and N'Golo Kante wasted opportunities.

But Mount made the tie safe five minutes from time, becoming the second youngest Englishman to score in the semi-finals of the Champions League – aged 22 years and 15 days – after Wayne Rooney (21 years 182 days).

"The heads were never down, the heads were always up even after these big chances," added Tuchel.

"We always stayed positive and we never regret something so it was fantastic. The job is not done yet, we are in two finals now, the sacrifice I personally gave was worth it since day one."

Chelsea beat Pep Guardiola's City in the FA Cup semi-finals and will face them again in the league on Saturday.

Tuchel rejected the notion of that victory giving Chelsea the upper hand ahead of the final but said of the Wembley win: "It gives us a good feeling, it gives us confidence.

"We played that semi-final on the edge and we used it. I said before and I will say it always for me Bayern Munich throughout the last season with Manchester City, they are the benchmark.

"We wanted to close the gap in this one match, the semi-final, which we did on a very impressive performance and we will need the same level of performance again.

"It gave us belief, it gave us self-confidence for every game after that because it is the highest level you can face. We have these huge challenges in the Premier League, we have come out of it very, very strong, we showed mentality and quality in all of these matches.

"We will arrive with self-confidence and with the positive energy in Istanbul. We will arrive in Istanbul to win, not to be one of the participants, we arrive to be focused to win." 

Thomas Tuchel insists Chelsea will not sit back on their away-goal advantage against Real Madrid as it is in the club's DNA to try to win every match.

Christian Pulisic scored a crucial goal for Chelsea in last week's Champions League semi-final first leg before Karim Benzema levelled up the tie at 1-1 through Madrid's only shot on target.

The onus is on Madrid to score an away goal of their own in Wednesday's return match at Stamford Bridge, but Tuchel does not intend to set his side out to protect their narrow lead.

"For me, the challenge is to forget the result in two-legged games and go on and start anew at 0-0," he said at Tuesday's pre-match news conference.

"We will prepare to win the match, nothing else. I don't know any other way to prepare other than to encourage my team to go out and try to win it.

"If we are at our best then it's a no-brainer that we go for the win. We want to win games, this club is about winning.

"This game and competition is about winning. We are in the semi-final second leg.

"The first result is not as important as everybody thinks. There is zero importance for me in the preparation of this match. 

"It's not changed anything about how we've prepared, zero influence. We will encourage them, we will demand from them and we will be strong tomorrow as a group."

Tuchel was left frustrated by Chelsea's finishing in the first leg, with Timo Werner guilty of missing good opportunities either side of Pulisic and Benzema's goals.

Werner has scored from three of his 20 shots in this season's Champions League, giving the Germany international a shot conversion rate of 15.0 per cent.

For comparison, Madrid striker Benzema – who will overtake Raul as the competition's outright fourth top goalscorer if he nets on Wednesday – has scored from six of his 31 shots (19.4 per cent)

But while Tuchel accepts his attacking players have to be more clinical, he is happy to persist with his current set-up.

"I believe that Timo absolutely wants to score more, but we have to understand sometimes strikers miss chances. This is part of the game," he said. 

"We have another training session today and it is always about the last impression from the players.

"Everybody needs to step up to take responsibility for scoring. This will come maybe with more time and some self-confidence. 

"I am pretty relaxed about it and trust my players, no matter who starts tomorrow."

Madrid were without captain Sergio Ramos last week but the experienced defender has been included as part of their squad for Wednesday's game.

Los Blancos have won three and drawn one of the four Champions League games Ramos has started this season, compared to three wins, two draws and two losses in the seven games he has missed.

Tuchel is expecting Ramos to return to the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge, which could also possibly mean a change in formation for the visitors.

"Does Ramos play or not? This is a tough question because I don't know if he's fit or not. We'll see after training and when they give the line-up," the German coach said.

"Does it change for Real Madrid? Yes, it changes them a lot. He's the captain of the most successful team in Europe in recent years.

"It changes a lot but we cannot lose our heads about this decision. I think that he will start, we will prepare for that and we have to make sure he can't do it alone."

"I am not sure if they will play 5-3-2 again, maybe they will go 4-3-3. From this decision, things change. 

"I believe that it is not about formation, what Real Madrid play, it is about how we play. Are we brave enough? Are we courageous enough?"

Chelsea have progressed from five of their past seven knockout ties in the Champions League when avoiding defeat away from home in the first leg. 

However, one of those two eliminations came in their last semi-final appearance in the competition, versus Atletico Madrid in 2013-14 when losing the second leg 3-1.

The Blues' only previous triumph in the competition was in 2011-12 and Tuchel, a beaten finalist with Paris Saint-Germain last season, knows the importance of lifting the trophy.

"I never felt like this competition is our holy grail since I arrived but I felt that this club is about winning," he said. 

"It does something to you, you feel it. We are very competitive, very serious about any game, this is what I like.

"I never felt we had a holy grail to reach the final or winning the Champions League is the only target. I have a strong feeling that every win counts, the club demands it."

Tuchel confirmed midfielder Mateo Kovacic will again miss out for Chelsea through injury, but Antonio Rudiger is fit to play with the aid of a protective mask.

Away-day specialists Manchester City saw off Crystal Palace 2-0 to close in on another Premier League title and equal a top-flight record in the process.

Chelsea beat Fulham by the same scoreline elsewhere in Saturday's Premier League action, thanks to a couple of goals from Kai Havertz.

A two-goal success was also the outcome when Brighton and Hove Albion welcomed Leeds United to the Amex Stadium, the Seagulls all but securing their top-flight status for another season.

In the late match, Aston Villa edged out Everton 2-1 to boost their chances of a top-half finish and derail their opponents' European prospects.

We use Opta data to take a look at the best facts from Saturday's games.

 

Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City: Patient Citizens win again on their travels

Goals from Sergio Aguero and Ferran Torres in the space of 83 seconds proved enough for City to pick up a victory that leaves them on the brink of another piece of silverware.

Those strikes came from the Citizens' first two shots on target and saw them reach the 700-goal mark under Pep Guardiola in all competitions.

City's 57-minute wait for their first on-target attempt of the match was their longest in a Premier League game since November 2019 against Southampton.

Torres added to Aguero's opener moments later with a good finish from 20 yards - the 11th league goal Palace have conceded from outside the box this term, which is the joint-most of any Premier League team alongside Sheffield United.

The victory was City's 11th in a row away from home in the Premier League, equalling the all-time English top-flight record held by Chelsea (April-December 2008) and City themselves (May-December 2017).

Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 Leeds United: Whites lose again on south coast

Brighton moved within touching distance of securing a fifth successive season of Premier League football thanks to a well-earned victory at home to Leeds.

Pascal Gross found the bottom corner from a 14th-minute penalty and Danny Welbeck added to that with his fifth Premier League goal of the season in his 21st outing - the forward's best top-flight return since 2017-18.

It was an all-too-familiar tale for Leeds, who have now lost five successive away league meetings against Brighton without scoring - the first time that has happened in their history against a single opponent.

In fact, Brighton have won eight of their last nine league meetings with Leeds home and away, which is more than they managed in their previous 28 against them.

Leeds managed just two attempts on target as Graham Potter's Brighton claimed a seventh home clean sheet of the season, a tally bettered only by Manchester City and Chelsea (nine each) in the Premier League this season.

 

Chelsea 2-0 Fulham: Havertz inflicts more derby misery on Cottagers

Kai Havertz doubled his Premier League goals tally with a brace in Chelsea's routine victory over Championship-bound Fulham.

All eight of the Germany international's goals for Chelsea in all competitions have now been scored in London, seven of those at Stamford Bridge and one at Selhurst Park.

His second goal in this game involved some nice link-up play with Timo Werner, who with that assist became the first Chelsea player to reach double figures for both goals (11) and assists (10) in his debut season for the club since Eden Hazard in 2012-13.

Werner's combined 21 goals and assists is the most of any Chelsea player this term, and he is one of five Premier League players to reach double figures for both metrics across all competitions alongside Harry Kane, Bruno Fernandes, Son Heung-min and Marcus Rashford.

Fulham have now gone 19 away games without a win at neighbours Chelsea in all competitions - only versus Everton (31), Hull City (23) and Middlesbrough (21) are the Blues currently enjoying a longer unbeaten run against an opponent on home soil.

The Cottagers are also now winless in 24 Premier League London derbies since beating West Ham in January 2014 - only Palace have endured a longer such run in English top-flight history, going 31 London derbies without a win between August 1969 and March 1973.

Fulham missed some good chances as Chelsea kept an 11th Premier League clean sheet under Thomas Tuchel - the most shutouts for any manager in their first 15 games in the competition, one more than ex-Blues bosses Jose Mourinho and Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Everton 1-2 Aston Villa: Toffees' poor Goodison run continues against familiar opponents

Villa dented Everton's European hopes with victory at Goodison Park in what was the 205th top-flight meeting between the clubs - the most played fixture in England's top division.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Villans have won more games (20) and scored more goals (73) in the Premier League era against Everton than they have against any other side in the competition.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his 20th goal in all competitions this season to open the scoring in Saturday's late kick-off - with that haul including a Premier League leading seven headers - to cancel out Ollie Watkins' opener.

But Anwar El Ghazi snatched all three points for the Villans 10 minutes from time with his eighth goal in 23 Premier League games this season, doubling his tally from 34 appearances in the competition last time out.

Everton have now won just one of their last 10 home league matches and have tasted defeat at Goodison Park eight times this season - only in 1993-94 have they lost on more occasions (nine) in a single Premier League campaign.

Thomas Tuchel praised Kai Havertz for giving him a headache ahead of Chelsea's Champions League semi-final second leg with Real Madrid with his match-winning performance against Fulham.

Havertz scored a goal in each half as Chelsea cruised to a 2-0 victory over Fulham, which moved them six points clear of West Ham in the race for the top four, although David Moyes' side have a game in hand. 

The Germany international had started on the bench in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Madrid, but may have given Tuchel a selection problem for the return fixture at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday after doubling his Premier League goals tally for the season having scored only two goals in his previous 24 appearances in the competition.

"Still there is room for improvement but for today I am very happy," Tuchel told a media conference of Havertz's performance. 

"Of course, he was decisive, he was involved with Timo [Werner] as a double striker and with Mason [Mount] and Hakim [Ziyech] as the four offensive guys, always involved in dangerous attacks and situations.

"For me it was the individual example for what I just explained, the players today who maybe had a tough decision on them last Tuesday but they didn't say, or like Kai today, didn't play with the attitude that they need me and I wanted more time in Madrid, why do they play me now only against Fulham?

"This was absolutely not the case, he took his chance, he showed up, this is what we need all the time and especially in situations like this, you need guys who are fully committed.

"That means if you have a chance to show up, then show. If you have five minutes, fifteen minutes or a whole game, whatever it is, show that you are ready and give me a headache for the next game."

Asked if the race for a top-four finish is now theirs to lose, Tuchel replied: "No, I feel we have nothing to lose. We are in the middle of the race.

"I think it will continue but it was such a big match to keep the advantage, we have worked so hard in the last week and like I said it is very important that we have a clear mind and nothing to regret for the Wednesday game.

"Then comes the Wednesday game and then look at our fixtures, you see how tough it is. We take nothing for granted, we work hard and keep our head down, feet on the ground and try to the best we can."

Thomas Tuchel has outlined how he wants to strengthen Chelsea's squad in the transfer window but says he will not be "angry" if he misses out on his top targets.

Tuchel fell out with Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo after making it clear that he felt the Ligue 1 champions should have done more business in order for his previous employers to kick on this season.

That was not the first time the straight-talking German has had his differences with the hierarchy at clubs over transfer dealings.

Erling Haaland and Romelu Lukaku are among the players to be linked with a move to Stamford Bridge and Tuchel says he rightly has been involved with putting plans in place for recruitment.

"I have opinions about what we can add to the group to get better," Tuchel said. "This is my job. I will give my opinion when I am asked my opinion.

"We will do this and sometimes your opinions change and this is also a process.

"I have my ideas, of course. I have my ideas for certain profiles. It is not about me wishing for player A and player B and if they don't come, I will get angry. It was never like this in my whole career and it will never be like this.

"I understand that there are issues to solve with the agents, the players and the interests of the club. It is not only about me and my wishes. This is the baseline for all talks that we have here. Of course, we talk about it.

"I talk with the club, I give my opinion and talk about it with the scouting department. I am involved and I should be involved. I have the feeling that I am involved.

"The players that we have all have fantastic personalities and right now is even a moment where we get to know each other better and better.

"We have big games and crucial times ahead of us, so we will have a very clear picture of our group. The stronger they perform then the harder it is to improve this squad from the outside. But there's always room and ideas that we will find out.

"I have a strong feeling that we are not in a rush and we are not in a big need. We are very relaxed. Everyone is fully focused and it is not the time to get distracted with any of that."

Mateo Kovacic has suffered a setback in his recovery from a thigh strain, putting hopes of him featuring for Chelsea against Real Madrid in doubt.

The midfielder has not played for the Blues since a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace on April 10.

He trained on Friday in the hope of perhaps being available for Saturday's Premier League clash with Fulham.

But he now looks set to miss that game and is a doubt for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, with Chelsea holding an advantage on away goals after a 1-1 draw in Spain.

Asked about Kovacic's availability at a pre-match media conference, manager Thomas Tuchel replied: "He is still injured, he trained with us, he felt something at the end of the training so he's still not available.

"All other players are available except for Antonio Rudiger who got injured in the last minute of the Madrid game.

"Before today, before training we thought Kova had a big chance to join us at the latest for Madrid, so now we have a little setback, not a big one.

"With him I don't want to be too negative, let's see how he feels tomorrow and for Toni I'm quite positive for Wednesday."

Chelsea, who are three points clear of fifth-placed West Ham, can ill-afford to let up as they fight for a top-four finish that would secure their Champions League place for next season while aiming to win it this term.

After the Fulham game, Tuchel's men have the second leg against Madrid and then face Manchester City and Arsenal prior to the FA Cup final with Leicester City on May 15.

Tuchel conceded it can be difficult to find balance in his team amid such a hectic schedule, adding: "We are in the middle of the race, is it always easy to switch from one competition to another? No, but who cares?

"Everybody can do easy. It's our job to switch focus and it's my job to find the mix, to put the players in the right mindset and to prepare this match in the way that everybody understands the importance of the match.

"We did not work that hard, and I hope the players feel the same, they did not work that hard all these weeks, all these matches to give us this advantage just to let it slip through our hands by not being focused.

"It's [the schedule] brutal honestly. We played in France [at PSG] the same amount of games, two cups and also 20 teams in the league so we got the impression. But, of course, the intensity of the league, the challenge of the league is very, very different now here.

"It is another level, it's quite relentless. But it keeps you on your front foot and it keeps you coming out of bed early. There is simply no time to breathe, there is no time to sit back and get too relaxed or comfortable. This is a good thing, it sharpens your mind, it sharpens your mentality.

"This is what I find very impressive in this club, everybody is on the front foot, everybody in the club is fully aware of what it takes to be in shape, this is very impressive and that's why, although it's super demanding, we feel very comfortable because we arrive any game with the knowledge and deep conviction that we are prepared for this, we can perform at this level and we can adapt."

Thomas Tuchel has told misfiring Chelsea forward Timo Werner that it is no time to cry over his form in front of goal.

Werner has struggled to replicate the form that saw him score 28 goals in 34 Bundesliga appearances for RB Leipzig last season since joining the Blues in a £47.5million deal.

The Germany international scored the only goal in a vital 1-0 win at West Ham on Saturday – his sixth in 31 Premier League outings.

However, his demons in front of goal returned during Tuesday's 1-1 Champions League semi-final draw at Real Madrid as he volleyed a glorious close-range opportunity too close to Thibaut Courtois.

Werner's four shots were more than any of his Chelsea team-mates, with two on target and one blocked before he was withdrawn in favour of compatriot Kai Havertz midway through the second-half.

"He missed a big one at West Ham, now he missed another big one here," Tuchel told a news conference after Karim Benzema's well-taken volley cancelled out Christian Pulisic's 14th-minute opener.

"That does not help, but it also does not help to cry about it or to regret it all the time.

"It's like this. There are millions of people who have harder things to deal with than chances that you miss.

"This is the good thing about sports. Nobody cares tomorrow. Today we were sad, we were angry in the moment.

"This is normal. He is angry, he is maybe disappointed. Tomorrow he has a free day and then the next day he has to put his chin up."

Werner has scored six non-penalty goals for Chelsea across the Premier League and Champions League, with his shots in those competitions adding up to an expected goals (xG) figure of 13.4 – underlining his woes.

However, the 25-year-old's selfless running and work rate has been valuable to Tuchel since he succeeded Frank Lampard in January.

Although he did not create any chances for his colleague in the Spanish capital, Werner has supplied eight assists amid his Premier League and Champions League efforts this term.

"He is a professional guy, he is a top guy. He works hard, he is in the positions and from there on we go," Tuchel added.

"We will never stop pushing, we will never stop believing. I have the feeling that everybody accepts the situation as it is.

"As a striker it is easy – you score the next game and nobody speaks."

Thomas Tuchel was left frustrated by Chelsea's finishing in Tuesday's 1-1 Champions League semi-final first-leg draw with Real Madrid, adamant they would have been deserved winners had they shown more "composure and precision".

Chelsea took the lead in Madrid thanks to Christian Pulisic's fine individual work in the 14th minute, though they should have already been in front.

Just a few moments earlier, Timo Werner latched on to a Pulisic header across goal but shot at Thibaut Courtois from close range when he seemed destined to score.

The German also missed a decent chance late in the first half, with Karim Benzema having equalised in the interim period.

But that Benzema strike was Madrid's only shot on target, the first time since at least 2003-04 that Los Blancos have had so few in a home Champions League match.

Madrid have progressed from their two previous Champions League knockout ties with English opposition when drawing the first leg at home, though, and Tuchel rued his side's inability to finish them off at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

"We started very well, very aggressive with courage and quality. We deserved to win the first half," he told BT Sport. "We had lots of chances and half-chances where we missed precision with the last ball.

"Unfortunately they scored from a set piece – nothing else normally for us to defend, we didn't allow any chances – so it was a disappointing result at half-time.

"It was important that we stayed calm, didn't lose confidence and we fought back into the game.

"I felt the second half was a tactical game and the speed and intensity dropped. You could feel that we were a bit tired with only two days between two away games. We suffered today from that.

"If we had one more day to recover we would have had a big chance to keep the intensity up and maybe hurt Madrid also in the second half. This was not possible and we have to live with 1-1."

Tuchel felt their initial one-goal lead was more than justified and reiterated his opinion Madrid were fortunate to be level at the interval.

The German, who is the only Champions League coach to face Madrid five times without losing, then allowed a little frustration at his team's finishing to come to light.

"It was well deserved [Pulisic's goal] and, like I said, we should have won the first half," he continued.

"We should have scored a minimum one more goal. The chances were there, the half-chances were there, we had many ball wins, good control, good attacks. We were very confident, looked very strong.

"The goal came more or less out of nothing but that can always happen when you are faced with individual quality from Real Madrid.

"A bit more composure and precision in front of goal and we could have won the first half and been a deserved winner. It's not like this, so we live with 1-1 and try to win the next game."

The two teams meet again at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday, with Tuchel aiming to reach a second successive Champions League final having lost in last season's showpiece with Paris Saint-Germain.

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