Tuchel on Chelsea duo’s futures, injury latest and his ‘concern’ ahead of Man City clash

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel spoke at a press conference on Monday as his team prepare for this weekend’s Champions League final against Manchester City. Here’s some of what he had to say.

On whether Kante and Mendy are likely to play

“There is no change with N’Golo. It looks good and I hope it stays that way.

“For Edou, the update is that we still have hope that he joins the group.

“He made a huge improvement with the management of pain. We will have a further update on Wednesday.

“Edou will play if he is fit. If he’s not fit on Wednesday we will try on Thursday and we will try on Friday.

“At the same time we have trust that if he cannot make it then we have a strong guy on the bench with Kepa, who will take his place.

“So now the race is on. We are very happy that the images don’t show that the injury is serious, so at the moment we are positive.

“Every hour counts now and every day counts. Hopefully the team around Edou and he himself can do enough and he will be on the pitch.”

On the futures of Silva and Giroud

“We speak, of course. I am in contact with the board and they know about my opinion.

“But it’s not the moment now to give any announcements. The club will announce these things and not the coach and it’s good that it’s like this.”

On whether he is concerned about losing three of the past four games

“Yes, it concerns me – because it always concerns me when we lose.

“It’s not so easy to get a grip on these losses, to analyse them, because the data and statistics we produce, and the performances we produce, do not indicate that it’s logic to lose.

“But still, it’s a fact that we lost. So we are concerned because it’s the worst feeling for me to lose.

“It’s a bit too much (to say) that we are unlucky in the last weeks. I don’t like to stress it too much because it seems like we talk about it too many times.

“But it is like this. We were simply not lucky in these games. We cannot deny that we had good performances.

“So, yes and no; we are concerned but there is no second thoughts – there is only all in for Saturday’s match.”

On Chelsea winning their past two games against City

“I don’t know if it’s an advantage, but we are aware that we closed the gap to Man City in two games. We did it in a short period of time, not so long ago.

“But in a final anything can happen in all directions. Luck is a huge part, the mental approach over who can handle the pressure, and little details like who can release the pressure and have the first positive moment in the match.

“City are the benchmark in Europe and this league. We are the guys who want to hunt them and close the gap. We want to challenge them.”