Chelsea lost the game 2-1, to Aston Villa on Championship Sunday, but they won the bigger prize. That’s because Leicester City absolutely bottled it, totally collapsed against Tottenham Hotspur in the second half, and now the Blues are in UEFA Champions League next season, and the Foxes are not.
Which means they can enter the UCL final next weekend, against Manchester City, much more loose than they would have been, given how Champions League competition for next season is already secured. However, they’re going to need their #1, Benjamin Mendy, fully fit for the epic clash in Porto next weekend against Manchester City.
Tuchel had to sub out Mendy when the Frenchman collided with the far post today. And thus Kepa Arrizabalaga entered at halftime with Chelsea down 2-0. However, it sounds like the shotstopper will be okay.
“It is easy to handle, he fell into the frame of the net,” the Blues boss said.
“He feels a big pain in his ribs. We will have an update tomorrow with what’s going on. We will see if it is possible and if it is possible, we will push to do everything so he is in goal on Saturday.”
So there you have it, if Mendy can play, he’ll definitely play, no doubt about it. A trophy game always means all hands on deck.
Tuchel admitted that his side didn’t deliver, and that he got a big favor from one of his London rivals on this Championship Sunday.
“We are lucky that Tottenham did the job for us and finished the job for us today,” Tuchel said.
“Like I said, we came to win and to put any doubts to the side, but it was not possible. We are in the position, were in it, that it was possible to end in the four even with a defeat and that was possible because of the team’s hard work and consistently good results.”
“We need to adjust details and we need to be spot-on on Saturday as we want a positive outcome.”
The second all-England final in two years awaits. It’ll be here before you know it.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.