Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel reveals N’Golo Kante will miss the game against Juventus due to COVID and urges the Blues to bounce back after their defeat against Manchester City.
Chelsea travel to Turin where they will face Juventus at the Allianz Stadium tomorrow.
It kicks off at 20.00 UK time.
The Bianconeri will be without Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata, but the Premier League giants also have big players out of action in Christian Pulisic, Reece James, Mason Mount and N’Golo Kanté.
Juventus started their European campaign with a 3-0 win away at Malmo but have only won two games from six in Serie A.
“They are a big club with huge experience in Champions League, they had a rough start, but they were very convincing in Champions League,” Tuchel said at his pre-match press conference.
“You never know, some players are missing, the same goes for us. It demands respect for the quality and tradition of this club [Juventus]. It’s a tough challenge, we need positive energy and determination to bounce back.
“Christian [Pulisic], Reece [James] and Mason [Mount] are out to injuries and N’Golo has tested positive [for COVID], so it will take time following the Government’s protocol. He was not in training today. Reece is still very painful, it will come down to game management and how much he can accept.”
The Blues lost their last Premier League meeting against Manchester City last week and Tuchel urged his side to bounce back after a disappointing result.
“You always need to adapt to the players you have, the strengths and we were not happy about how we defended against Manchester City, we were too passive,” Tuchel said.
“The defensive plan is my responsibility, this passive behaviour was not the plan. When we had the ball we were too deep, we defended the box over long periods, we didn’t allow anything inside the box and around it.
“However, it does not feel good when it becomes so passive and so deep, the choice of the system may have let to this behaviour. We showed we can play high pressing and have high ball recoveries with Romelu [Lukaku]. It’s a very complex game we need to be better in all spaces of the game. The best way to defend is having the ball.
“City had a very strong performance, they made us underperform it’s enough room to bounce back, it’s necessary.”
Juventus sold Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer but Tuchel believes the Serie A giants remain a competitive side. The Portuguese star had scored 101 goals in 134 appearances with the Bianconeri.
“He is one of the greatest ever, he improves every time he is on the field. They lost a big reference, a big champion, a big personality, but you can win games and build strong teams without Cristiano, this is also true,” Tuchel claimed.
“Juventus have experience and personality, they have a deep and big squad. They have a very experienced coach. They have a certain mentality sharped by winning, it’s the first time i meet them in every competition.
“We’ll face a high competitor and this is what we like. We want to consistently get better and become a better team, we look forward to it, it’s a tough game.”
Let's hear from Thomas Tuchel and Jorginho ahead of tomorrow's #UCL match away to Juventus! 💪 https://t.co/cTPexdsD3c
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 28, 2021
All the best
It’ll be interesting to see how much the City game will have taken out of Chelsea. They were made to do a lot of running. Despite Juve’ absentess, I still think that they can win this game.
wrong, tuchel. we were screwd over by the portuguese poseur popstar and couldn`t find a 100 % replacement as he admitted himself. he moped around on the pitch, our goal difference went down sacrificing for someone who couldn`t be bothered, and he regularly went missing and his bad attitude spread. he`s a cancer we cut out.. we aren`t playing well but will be stronger. ask aston villa how easy it was to deal with ronno. ugh hate losing or dropping points to english teams, their arrogance is truly unpleasant and i`m english myself!