Chelsea’s match against Manchester City for the Champions League trophy is not even a day away. Both the teams arrived in Porto and are all set for the battle tonight. Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel admire each other, but the Chelsea manager understands that the Champions League final is determined on other elements too.
Former PSG coach Tuchel believes in Saturday’s Champions League final against Manchester City the tactical struggle between himself and Pep Guardiola will not be decisive. This is Tuchel’s second consecutive year in the finals, last year his side failed to defeat Bayern Munich.
Much has been made of Tuchel and Guardiola’s friendship and mutual admiration In the build-up to the showpiece match at Estadio do Dragao.
“It’s much more than that. I would never suggest that it’s me against him,” he told a pre-match news conference in Porto. “We don’t have a match of tennis. We arrive with our teams. Pep will prepare his team and I will prepare my team in the best way possible.”
“We have two different experiences against them in different competitions. Two different matches, two different line-ups. Tomorrow I think they will be a very different line-up from Man City.”
Chelsea are set to reach the Champions League final against Manchester City on Saturday, with N’Golo Kante and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy now fully recovered from injury problems in the early period of the game.
“The best news so far: no injuries and hopefully it will stay that way until after training today,” coach Thomas Tuchel told reporters at a news conference on Friday. French midfielder Kante missed Chelsea’s last Premier League game of the season at Aston Villa last weekend as a precaution after a 2–1 win over Leicester City with a problem five days earlier. Mendy has been replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga after hitting a post against rib in the break against Villa.
Meanwhile, there is some concern for Pep Guardiola’s side, with midfielder Ilkay Gundogan depicted limping from the previous training session on the pitch in Porto. The German international is City’s top scorer this season, scoring 17 goals in all competitions.
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