Thomas Tuchel has challenged his Chelsea stars to keep the tempo up and considers his team to be ‘hunters’ over favourites like Manchester City or Liverpool.
Chelsea began their Premier League campaign in fantastic style, breezing past Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and Trevor Chalobah ensured Thomas Tuchel began his first full season on a roll. The manager wants his side to challenge the title from now on.
Tuchel believes the Premier League is the toughest competition of all and understands that other teams are considered favourites. While Manchester City are the overwhelming pick to win it this season, Liverpool and Manchester United are also in the mix alongside the Blues.
However, Tuchel does not believe in the favourites tag and wants his side to be ‘hunters’ and chase down the other big sides to win the title. The German tactician wants his side to keep the tempo up after the Palace win to match up to the season’s pace, especially when Chelsea have some important fixtures ahead.
The Blues will face Arsenal and Liverpool this month. After the international break, Tottenham and Manchester City are Chelsea’s opponents, and Tuchel knows it will be a crucial period that could define their season.
The Express posted quotes from Tuchel after Chelsea’s win against Palace, and the German strongly challenged his players to keep up the pressure. “We said during the last campaign that we set the bar high, and we try to close gaps in the 90 minutes,” he said.
“This is the Premier League, the toughest competition, and it is on us; I truly believe we are in the role of the hunters to close the gap to Liverpool, City and United. We have to do this week in, week out. We are not shy to say this out loud that we try to be the best in any competition that we play. There are three teams to close the gap to.”
Having defeated Villarreal on penalties to win the UEFA Super Cup, Tuchel & co. have made the perfect start to their league campaign. With difficult games against the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool lined up next, Chelsea will need to build on the early momentum to announce themselves as a serious threat to Manchester City’s reign at the top.
