Chelsea beat Premier League champions-elect and quadruple-dreaming Manchester City last night to reach the FA Cup final, consigning Pep Guardiola to just his third defeat in the last five months and passing Thomas Tuchel’s biggest test yet as Chelsea boss.
The Blues have not been perfect under the mid-season appointment — 13 wins from 19, while the attack continues to sputter — but we have consistently shown up when it’s mattered most, bringing out best and most committed against the toughest, just as we should. And we’re collecting clean sheets like they’re going out of style.
In three months at Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel has now beaten Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Diego Simeone (X2), José Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti! And without conceding a single goal either in those six matches!
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) April 17, 2021
That’s the sort of improvement we had been hoping for when deciding to sack a club legend like Frank Lampard, and Tuchel is delivering on those aims thus far — perhaps even ahead of schedule, though still the proverbial one step at a time, as with any improvement. These things take time, repetition, patience, and commitment.
“If you want to reach objectives, climb a mountain, you better start going. Just thinking about the top does not bring you anywhere. You need to actually walk and every journey starts with the first step. Don’t get confused by thinking too much. Don’t get irritated or maybe be too shy that you don’t wish for too much. Take it step by step.
“Today the target was to close the gap to Man City for 90 minutes. It was a huge target. We were very focused on that and delivered very well so now the next big target is to forget this performance and success and full awareness of a crucial week in the Premier League.”
We are now just one game from a trophy and two games from another European final, but as Tuchel says, the biggest thing right are the back-to-back league games: first against Brighton on Tuesday, then against West Ham on Saturday. The Hammers lost this weekend to give us a great chance to solidify our top-four position, but we still have to actually take advantage. So it’s yet another massive test, another potentially season-defining moment.
Another chance to keep improving.
“All of these things in top-level football and sports, in general, you need to be ready to constantly go forward, to constantly progress. What as a manager, staff and every player in this club needs is to totally commit to this approach of sports in the highest level. this is what I demand of myself and everybody in my staff and what I feel from everybody in the staff and team.”
-Thomas Tuchel; source: Football.London
Total commitment in the name of winning. Chelsea DNA.