Thomas Tuchel has claimed that Spurs and their top four rivals have a great opportunity to challenge Chelsea’s spot in the Champions League places, but have thus far been found lacking.
Tuchel addressed the media ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge this evening and he isn’t the only manager to have had his say on the Lilywhites’ prospects this week, after Jurgen Klopp sang Tottenham’s praises in his press conference (Liverpool).
Tuchel was less complimentary however, suggesting that an opportunity had been missed by Spurs after their early European exit.
He told the Daily Mail “I was not happy when Tottenham were out of the [Europa] Conference League. Because I thought, ‘Wow, I know what Antonio Conte can do with teams when they are focused and he can train them physically.'”
He added that North London rivals, Arsenal had a similar advantage: “I thought this will be a huge uplift for them in the domestic competition, and the same for Arsenal when they went out of the cup.”
With Chelsea having a busy end to the season compared to those below them, there is still an advantage for Spurs and Arsenal to gain ground, although Tuchel did admit: “It seems like things are pretty safe [in the top-four race], but things can change so, so quickly.”
SpursWeb’s opinion
Whilst the north London clubs don’t have a flawless record since going out of other competitions, both have enjoyed the extra training days, particularly at Hotspur Way, and results have improved on the whole.
Catching Chelsea looks unlikely and Tottenham and Arsenal will largely be battling one another for that final spot in the top four, rendering Tuchel’s comments mostly irrelevant.
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