Thomas Tuchel makes admission about Chelsea FC finishing fourth
Thomas Tuchel admits his side were lucky to "escape" with a top-four finish after Chelsea FC's loss to Aston Villa on Sunday
Thomas Tuchel admitted that Chelsea FC were “lucky” to escape with a top-four finish after they lost 2-1 to Aston Villa on the final day of the season.
The Blues ended up finishing in fourth place in the table behind Liverpool FC, after Leicester City were beaten 4-2 by Tottenham Hotspur on a dramatic final day in the Premier League.
Chelsea FC found themselves 2-0 down to Aston Villa inside 53 minutes at Villa Park after goals from Bertrand Traore and Anwar El Ghazi.
Ben Chilwell then pulled a goal back for the visitors with a close-range finish.
The south west London side finished the game with 10 men after Cesar Azpilicueta was shown a straight red card for a foul on Jack Grealish.
However, despite their defeat, the Blues ended up securing their place in the Champions League for next season via a top-four finish after Spurs came from behind to beat Leicester City.
Speaking after the game, Tuchel conceded that his side were far from at their best against the Villains.
Tuchel said: “It was our responsibility to lose today, we had enough chances. The performance was by far good enough to win the game.
“We did not score, conceded two cheap goals and it was a defeat in the end. We are lucky to escape today.
“We did not hit the target, the last touch was not precise enough. It was a very strong last half an hour and we had two big chances to score. We fought, tried everything but forgot to score.”
Chelsea FC will now turn their attentions to the preparations for the Champions League final against Manchester City next weekend.
“A loss never feels good but tomorrow I will take a lot of satisfaction,” he continued.
“We reached the objective and congratulations to everyone. We are still a young team, players fighting for their first trophies and now we arrive in Porto with full confidence.”
