Thomas Tuchel made it clear where Chelsea’s weaknesses lie after admitting they were lucky to secure a place in the Premier League top four.
A 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa could have cost them Champions League qualification, if not for Tottenham’s 4-2 win at Leicester City.
Tuchel has made a top-class striker his priority in his first transfer window at Chelsea – and on Friday confirmed his interest in wantaway Spurs captain Harry Kane.
And assessing his side’s latest defeat – a third in their last four games – he admitted: “It is normally so, so hard to create chances and to score against Aston Villa but we created a lot, many deliveries.
“They are still a young team and we try to evolve and to make them better, learn from every game, but it has been our story throughout the season.
“We needed many clean sheets to overcome this lack of composure and precision. Today we conceded two goals from set-pieces and it was hard to come back, but we had enough chances to turn it around.”
Erling Haaland and Romelu Lukaku are also targets for Chelsea this summer, while another striker on Tuchel’s radar, Sergio Aguero, is on the verge of joining Barcelona.
Despite defeat, Tuchel did achieve his minimum requirement of securing a top four finish – but admitted his side were fortunate to avoid last day heartbreak.
“I knew it (top four had been secured) maybe three or four minutes before our game was over because the game at Leicester was over a bit earlier, so we knew about the result and that it was clear we were through.
“It was our main target, but clearly, we did not play or prepare for the occasion today. We prepared for the match and the target was to win the match and I think that, again, we are absolutely able to win this match.
“We are lucky that Tottenham did the job for us and finished the job for us today. Like I said, we came to win and to pout any doubts to the side, but it was not possible.
“We are in the position, were in it, that it was possible to end in the four even with a defeat and that was possible because of the team’s hard work and consistently good results.
“We need to adjust details and we need to be spot on, on Saturday as we want a positive outcome.”
