Thomas
Tuchel is optimistic Chelsea will show their resolve after back-to-back
defeats for the first time in his tenure and secure Champions League
qualification.
Chelsea host third-placed Leicester on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports, knowing
a victory would see them leapfrog the Foxes, before travelling to Aston
Villa on Sunday.
Tuchel said he had "no regrets" about his side's FA Cup final defeat to
Leicester on Saturday, but conceded Liverpool had increased the pressure
after goalkeeper Alisson's last-minute winner at West Brom on Sunday moved
them to within a point of the Blues.
"The setback was the Arsenal game [a 1-0 defeat last week]," said the
Chelsea head coach.
"It is our fault that it is so close again. We let the door open and
Liverpool put a foot in the door.
"This is what they do, this is a strong team.
"We had a huge effort to overcome them and to close the gap to overtake
them. This is what we did and we can be aware of this huge performance that
we did so far. But we want to finish the job.
"We are in the lucky situation that we can rely on ourselves and don't have
to look at other grounds."
Tuchel, whose side face Manchester City in the final of Europe's top-tier
club competition, said he was "fighting hard" to recover momentum and
confidence within his side.
"The margins are so tight in football for wins and losses. It's easy to
handle your self-confidence when you win but nobody needs to be afraid of
the situation," Tuchel said as the German admitted doubts were inevitable.
"If we bring out the same performance as in the final, the same work rate
and energy, improve with details in the match, we are able to win games. We
are aware we need momentum and luck in any match for results."
Tuchel insisted there was nothing "personal" in his decision to omit joint
top-scorer Tammy Abraham from his matchday squad in the defeat to Brendan
Rodgers' side at the weekend.
"It's just on the amount of people I can nominate for a game," he explained.
"I decided to start with Timo as the No 9 and we had Kai and Oli who can
play No 9 so we decided not to have three No 9s on the bench.
"Since I arrived here everybody deserves to be in the squad. I understand
his frustration and this was not the first time. We have other guys with the
same situation.
"This is not the moment to complain and this is not the moment to explain
too much. This is the moment to live in the moment and these are the
decisive two weeks of the whole season."
Meanwhile, Tuchel is hopeful Antonio Rudiger, who is out of contract next
summer, commits his future at Stamford Bridge after being an integral member
of his squad since his appointment in January.
"If Toni wants to stay at the club then he has our full support," said
Tuchel.
"Nothing is better than what is doing for a new contract. He is speaking
with his performances and has been amazing.
"He is very brave and full of energy in his defending. He is leading by
example and has a very positive aggressivity in him. This is what we like.
"When he can channel all this into top performances, we are all very happy
to have him.'
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