Thomas Tuchel is grateful that Chelsea got help from Tottenham to finish the Premier League season inside the top four and hopeful that the Edouard Mendy injury in a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa won’t keep the keeper from starting the UEFA Champions League Final.
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There is good news on the Mendy front, as Chelsea fans will breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Chelsea’s loss and Liverpool’s win over Crystal Palace opened the door to the top four for Leicester, who fell apart for the second-straight year in a 4-2 loss to Spurs on Championship Sunday.
The Blues had to use a sub when starting goalkeeper Mendy collided with the far post and injured his ribs, as Kepa Arrizabalaga entered the match at halftime with Chelsea down 2-0.
What is the latest on Edouard Mendy?
Tuchel updated the Mendy injury news on Monday when speaking to reporters, and it seems like he has a chance of making the Champions League final as the ‘images show it is not too serious’ from the scan.
“We still have hope that he joins training on Wednesday and he joins the group,” Tuchel said. “He’s made a huge improvement in the management of pain. Edou will play if he is fit, and if he is not fit on Wednesday we will try on Thursday, and on Friday, and be always reasonable and take the responsibility for this decision.
“At the same time we have trust if he cannot make it, because we have a strong guy on the bench in Kepa who can start. So now the race is on, and hopefully Edou can do enough that he will be on the pitch. It would be a big boost for us.”
The Chelsea boss said, quite simply, that if Mendy is fit he will start the final.
Tuchel won’t be too bothered by the performance at Villa as he turns his eyes to the Champions League Final.
All eyes on Champions League final glory
The Blues will have to beat an in-form Man City and won’t have any trouble focusing on the game. However Chelsea made it to the top four, they made it.
“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 pout 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.”
