Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel has characterized pursuing Manchester City and Liverpool as a task that motivates him to get out of bed early every morning.
This season, the Blues have been the best of the rest behind City and Liverpool, finishing third in the Premier League and losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League, despite the top two teams reaching the semi-finals.
Chelsea also lost the Carabao Cup final on penalties to Liverpool, and if they can go past Crystal Palace in the last four, they might meet either Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp's team in the FA Cup final.
This season has served as a reminder of how much work remains to close the gap, though Tuchel claims Chelsea's injuries and Covid troubles, which included an outbreak in December, have stymied their efforts to do so.bb
f'Right now, we're competing with perhaps the two most consistent and possibly the best clubs in Premier League history,' he said.
'However, I enjoy it.' I have to confess, it appeals to me. It motivates you to get out of bed early, and we won't stop thinking about how to cut the deficit in this season, which is still ongoing.' We're still fighting, and we shouldn't give up until we've collected as many points as possible. Then we'll draw a line under it, analyze it, and try to find what is good and what we can improve upon.
'We need to work out our situation at the club in general, and hopefully we'll be able to do so in the same spirit as we began the season.' We were fully prepared to run the entire event.
'I think we battled more than they did in between injuries and the Corona situation.' They deserve full credit; they are leaders, and we will not yield.'