Why Chelsea Can’t Win EPL This Season -Tuchel

Thomas Tuchel has conceded that his Chelsea side can no longer think about challenging for the Premier League title and must focus on securing their spot in the top four.

The Blues returned from the Club World Cup to find themselves 16 points behind league champions Manchester City who sit at the summit of the table having played a game more but, despite missing two gameweeks, Chelsea remain third.

When they left for Abu Dhabi, the likes of Spurs could have surpassed the Stamford Bridge side providing they won all of their games in hand, but Antonio Conte’s side were unable to capitalise, though there are a number of suitors lining up to challenge for a place in the Champions League.

The Blues find themselves four points ahead of Manchester United and six points ahead of West Ham having played a game less than both, while Arsenal could close the gap to a single point if they win the two matches they have in hand. Spurs also have two games in hand, and could climb within five points.

Chelsea are of course, still challenging in the FA Cup and Champions League, with the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on the horizon too.

Tuchel, for now, is focused on the Premier League however, and wants to see his side improve despite their security in third place at the moment.

He said: “It’s quite hard. Everything is quite hard. And that is the challenge and what we love. Sixteen points sounds too much, is too much, compared to where we want to be and what we demand of ourselves. But it’s the reality.

To reach our targets, a realistic approach is also necessary so we should not get confused in thinking about winning the Premier League. Still, we have to realise we are in a race for the top four right now which is a huge thing in the Premier League in general.

“At the end of the season, you can look back and think about the reasons why it is like this and try to do stuff better. We can do, of course, things within the season to improve. This is what we do. But right now the focus has to be realistic and we are in a race for the top four.