Tuchel wary of Spurs’ counter-attacking threat

Thomas Tuchel has warned his Chelsea side they face “big trouble” if they give Tottenham opportunities to counter-attack in Sunday’s London derby.

Spurs’ former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has developed a team known for its ability to undo teams on the break.

And Tuchel has told his players they will need to stop that happening at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

The Blues boss said: “I think we have to be very disciplined in certain regions of the game.

“They have a pattern in their offensive pressing and in their attitude to defend.

“It’s very important that we are good on the ball, the dominant team, and hopefully put the game into the opponents’ half, and from there we need to control the counter-attacks.

“They are one of the very best teams, maybe in the world, in counter-attacks. We can never lose our structure and lose our head while we are attacking. I believe this is the moment to stop the counter-attacks.

“When the counter-attack starts, you are already in trouble. You’re in big trouble, given the quality, speed and determination of Tottenham, so we need to be smart and stop the counter-attacks before they start.”

Chelsea have a brilliant record against Spurs – and beat them four times last season without conceding a goal.

But Tuchel believes Conte’s team have improved since then.

The German said: “They are a very talented squad. I know very well what we invested and to what level we played to beat them four times and not concede a goal against this quality of team.

“They’ve had a very aggressive transfer period and an excellent transfer period to strengthen their squad in quality and in depth.”