Thomas
Tuchel says he will not risk playing N'Golo Kante in the second leg of
Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final against Porto unless the midfielder
proves he is 100 per cent fit.
Kante sustained a hamstring injury during the recent international break
with France and has only made two substitute appearances for Chelsea since,
due to a lack of fitness.
Tuchel is keen to have Kante in his starting line-up as Chelsea aim to
secure a spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time
since 2014, but says he will not risk causing another setback for the
midfielder despite the importance of the game.
"First of all, I was unbelievably happy when he came with us last week [for
the first leg] because I didn't expect it," Tuchel said ahead of Tuesday's
second leg at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville.
"He was confident enough to return earlier, to help us in the last 15
minutes.
"But the downside of this situation was that he lost a little bit of sleep
after the travel issues, had less work in training because he was sitting on
the bench and only playing 20 minutes.
"And the next day he suffered from travelling and could not train like he
normally trains.
"We decided to play him from the bench against Palace but honestly, the
decision I will make tomorrow morning when I see him in training then we
will look at the others and how they feel."
Chelsea are in a commanding position in the tie having won the away first
leg 2-0 against Porto, but Tuchel insists he will not set his side out to
protect their lead because he believes that will only prove to invite
pressure from their opponents.
He added: "We have to accept against Porto that the game will be up and
down. In some instances we controlled the match, created half chances, good
counter-pressing but then in some minutes they escaped the pressure.
"Sometimes they overload sides and give you a lot of questions. In the first
leg we experienced up and downs, then the momentum shifted, this is what you
have to accept against them.
"For us it is important that we focus on us, play the best game possible as
this increases the chances to have a result. In terms of a result, it is
easier for Porto because they need to score three goals to get through, for
them if it is clear. For us, if we start in this way then we could
completely lose our heads. I hope we embrace the challenge and feel it."
Chilwell: We're all fighting to play under
Tuchel
Ben Chilwell, who was the unlikely goalscorer late on in the first leg
against Porto, says the competition among the Chelsea ranks, especially
ahead of this summer's European Championships, is bringing the best out of
the players.
Chilwell has been battling with Marcos Alonso to be Tuchel's first-choice
left-back, with Manchester United's Luke Shaw providing competition for a
starting place in Gareth Southgate's England team.
He said: "When the manager came in, it was a clean slate for everyone. I
used it as an opportunity to work harder, to ask him questions in training
where I can improve and get the opportunity, then prove to him I should be
playing more regularly.
"It's very healthy, especially at this stage of the season, everyone in the
squad needs to challenge each other."
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