Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has admitted that there is a gap between him and Manchester City ahead of their FA Cup semi-final, although they plan to chase Pep Guardiola’s men next season.
The Blues have been in fine form since Tuchel’s arrival in January – and lost just two of their 18 excursions in all competitions – but still find themselves a full 20 points behind City in the Premier League.
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Thomas Tuchel has revived Chelsea’s season Marc Atkins / Getty Images
Chelsea were beaten 3-1 when the two sides met at Stamford Bridge just a few weeks before Tuchel’s appointment, while their meetings in recent years have included a 6-0 hammer at the Etihad Stadium as early as 2019.
The Blues come face to face with the Premier League champions selected in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, and Tuchel has not ruled out that City are currently a better team than Chelsea – although he intends to do something about it next season .
“We have to accept that there is a gap between us and Manchester City,” he told BBC Sport. “If you look at the Premier League match and the matches in recent years, we have to accept this.
“And it is important that we accept this without making ourselves too small. From the first day of next season, we will chase them. We will try to close the gap between us.”
Although Guardiola’s side are better than the two, Tuchel insisted his players could not let it affect their performance at Wembley on Saturday.
“We have to admit that there is a gap, but for 90 minutes we are very self-conscious and very confident that we think we can close the gap tomorrow for a match,” he said.
Tuchel continued to accelerate Guardiola, adding that he was a big fan of the Catalan boss’s work during his time at La Liga behemoths Barcelona.
“When he was coach at Barcelona, I did not have the chance to know him personally, but I saw almost every game,” he added. “I was very impressed with how successful they were, with the style they played, all the academy guys, the offensive ball possession.”
