Thomas Tuchel admits Chelsea's Premier League title hopes are out of their hands after defeat at Manchester City, but vowed his side will never give up in the title race.
City won 1-0 at the Etihad against their closest rivals to cut them 13 points adrift in the title race and put Liverpool as the side most likely to catch the leaders given they have two games in hand.
Pep Guardiola insisted City must not get complacent with their huge lead, while Tuchel claimed Chelsea were unlucky not to get something from a tight game settled by Kevin De Bruyne's wonderful second-half strike.
Speaking to BT Sport, Tuchel said: "A result like this can happen. We deserved a draw. We didn't allow big chances - one from a big mistake in the first half, but we were not under that much pressure.
"Performance-wise it was OK. From the commitment, I'm absolutely OK with the performance. We have won games like this against City and that feels very different, but that's the way it is.
"We had eight or nine offensive transitions and zero touches in the box. It was simply a lack of precision and a lack of composure. On a level like this we lost too many balls too easily. That was a big problem in our game today.
"We had moments where we suffered, but not stronger than in the first game. In the first half we can do much better and create better chances with better ball control."
Regarding the title race, though, Tuchel was less optimistic, accepting that City are practically uncatchable from the position Chelsea find themselves in.
"It's not my question to answer," he said when asked if Chelsea's title chances are over.
"We won't give up, but if City keep on winning every game, nobody can catch them."
In a separate interview, Tuchel returned to his pre-match claims that City have been lucky with Covid cases in their squad, suggesting that is why they have won 12 games in a row, while Chelsea have just four wins from their last 12.
"It's about commitment. We can be sure that we're trying," he said.
"If City win 12 matches in a row and we're struggling with injuries and Covid, it's not the best time to close the gap. The gap is big because they deal better with Covid and better with injuries."
