Season finale holds no fears for Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel ahead of Leicester rematch

Two defeats on the spin for London club but German coach insists battle for top-four spot is 'still in our hands'

CHELSEA RATINGS: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6. Swept cleverly to clear following a rapid Leicester break early in the second half. Could only wave despairingly at Tielemans’ inch-perfect shot (no match photo available). Getty Images

Cesar Azpilicueta – 5. Played outside and ahead of James, but posed little of the attacking threat his younger colleague normally does. Wasted his best chances to cross – and Leicester scored from the ensuing attack. Reuters

Thiago Silva – 8. Showed the silky touch of a No 10, rather than a centre half, to set up a chance that Werner flicked wide. Thought he had set up the equaliser for Chilwell, only for VAR to rule it was offside. AFP

Antonio Rudiger – 6. Underemployed in defence, which gave him the chance to maraud forward, but he was too often wasteful when he did so. PA

Reece James – 7. He might have been detailed to combat Vardy’s pace in defence, but he still managed to contribute to the forward effort at times. Reuters

N’Golo Kante – 9. Against the side he made his name with, he was a class apart from all of his present colleagues. Entirely ubiquitous from start to finish. Reuters

Jorginho – 6. Chelsea led the possession stats, which was much down to the Italian, but his use of it was seldom threatening. Replaced by Havertz as Chelsea chased the game. Reuters

Marcos Alonso – 5. A nonentity in a defensive capacity, and a tame header was his only contribution of note going forward. Subbed off after his side went behind. Reuters

Hakim Ziyech – 5. A pale shadow of his usual self, as he rarely threatened anything of any significance before making way for Pulisic. AP

Mason Mount – 7. Prominent as Chelsea dominated possession early on, and showed some eye-catching, deft touches. Denied a leveller by Schmeichel’s brilliance. Reuters

Timo Werner – 7. The most threatening of Chelsea’s forwards, either side of being booked for a clumsy challenge on Thomas. AP

SUBS: Christian Pulisic – 6. Introduced in the second half as the Blues chased the game, but had little impact in the time he was on. AP

Ben Chilwell – 7. Greeted with a cacophony of boos by the fans of his former club. Nearly avenged the jeers when he headed onto a post, and had the ball in the goal – only to be denied by VAR. Reuters

Kai Havertz – NA. No chance to influence the game after he was introduced with 15 minutes left. EPA

Callum Hudson-Odoi – NA. Barely spotted after he was brought on with Chelsea a goal behind and time ticking away. AFP

Olivier Giroud – NA. Given his pedigree and his aerial prowess, it was a surprise his introduction to the fray was left to the 82nd minute (no match photo available). AFP

LEICESTER CITY RATINGS: Kasper Schmeichel – 9. Maintained his side’s lead with a brilliant fingertip save from a header by his former teammate Chilwell. His later save from Mount’s drive was even better. PA

Wesley Fofana – 9. His crunching early tackle on Alonso roused the Leicester support. Saw yellow later in the half for a late challenge, but made a brilliant block to thwart Werner straight after. AFP

Jonny Evans – 6. Cut a distraught figure as he was forced to limp from the field injured after half an hour, with the Foxes faithful singing his name. Reuters

Caglar Soyuncu – 7. Headed over when well placed from a Tielemans free kick. Seemed disorientated by Mount’s movement early on, but managed to keep his head. PA

Timothy Castagne – 8. Beat Alonso for pace and found Vardy with a cross, but was shunted into the back three because of Evans’ injury shortly after. He coped admirably. AP

Youri Tielemans – 9.5. One of the great FA Cup final goals capped an outstanding display. The Belgian’s fine array of passing meant Leicester were a threat even if their possession count was lower. AFP

Wilfred Ndidi – 7. Maybe he was overshadowed in his personal battle with the man he replaced in Leicester’s engine room – Kante – but he still did plenty enough to help the collective effort. PA

Luke Thomas – 8. What a week for the 19-year-old fill back. A goal at Old Trafford, then an FA Cup- winner’s medal. Earned himself a headache for his troubles. Reuters

Ayoze Perez – 6. Got through plenty of running, but most of it was tracking the opposition rather than constructing anything of note in the attacking third. AP

Jamie Vardy – 8. The beating heart of his club. Might not have threatened much himself, but vitally meant James had little forward impact. Roused the crowd, and started the party. Getty Images

Kelechi Iheanacho – 6. Attempted one probing through ball in the first half, but was mostly starved of possession by Rudiger. Looked emotionally spent when he was replaced by Maddison. AFP

SUBS: Marc Albrighton – 6. On for the injured Evans. Played his side into trouble with a loose pass that put Werner through on goal. PA

James Maddison – 7. Perhaps did not control possession in quite the way his manager would have wanted when he put him on, but did not shirk the running. EPA

Wes Morgan – NA. His unexpected late cameo might have ended in a nightmare were it not for the intervention of VAR. As it was, it was another entry in his personal fairytale. PA

Hamza Choudhury – NA. Given eight minutes at the end when it was all hands to the pump for Leicester. EPA

Thomas Tuchel is in the worst run of his time as Chelsea manager, which is another way of saying that after only two defeats in 25, he has lost consecutive games.

It is an exaggeration to call it a slump, but it is an ill-timed blip, costing the German a first trophy in England and potentially denying the 2020 and 2021 Champions League finalist a place in next season’s competition.

If Tuesday's FA Cup final rematch against Leicester does not bring revenge then Chelsea's destiny will be dependent on others. In the meantime, however, Tuchel is exuding positivity. "It's still in our hands," he said. "We are in the lucky situation where we can rely on ourselves. No one needs to be afraid of this situation."

And yet the decisive moment in the race for top-four places may yet prove a 95th-minute header from Liverpool’s goalkeeper. “That didn’t make things boring, that late goal from Alisson, that is for sure,” smiled Tuchel.

His skills as a strategist have taken Chelsea this far but sometimes events can take on a life of their own. “That is nothing you can plan,” said Tuchel. “We let the door open so Liverpool have a foot in the door. We make a huge effort to overcome and overtake them. We should be aware of the huge performance we've made so far but we need to finish the job.”

His regret is not the FA Cup final, but the preceding match. Last week's defeat to Arsenal was, Tuchel felt, perhaps a natural human reaction to defeating Real Madrid and Manchester City. He drew a distinction, arguing that Chelsea's numbers positioned them to win but nevertheless admitting they were below par in a London derby.

“The setback for us was the Arsenal game,” he added. “It is an awkward feeling. We lost two games but if you look at the data you can see no reason why we lost them.

"I think we had a lot of games that we won 1-0 with the same performance, same attitude and same statistics. But while we were winning the data against Arsenal, still I was missing a certain energy and determination.

"For Leicester, I have no worries, no regrets. We are disappointed about the result but not about how we behaved on the pitch. If we bring the same performance as in the final, the same work rate and energy, but improve some of the details, we are able to win games.”

This season, however, Chelsea have not been able to beat Leicester. Frank Lampard's last league match was against City, whose superiority was far greater than the 2-0 scoreline in January suggested. While Chelsea cannot secure Champions League football on Tuesday, Leicester can: victory would ensure they finish before the Londoners.
"Another huge game," said manager Brendan Rodgers. "It was a very important game at the weekend to create this legacy of being the first team in the club's history to win the FA Cup."

He relished the prospect of a sequel. “I think it will be tactically the same, two teams super organised, a tight game,” he said. “That was the beauty of it. Maybe neutrals are looking for a 5-4 but if it’s the same, I’ll be very pleased.”

Until the last week, Chelsea have tended to prosper in tight, tactical affairs. Tuchel at least has more options to add freshness, with Andreas Christensen back to bolster his defence.

In contrast, Leicester will be without Jonny Evans, who limped out of the FA Cup final. Rodgers has the smaller squad and, with 8,000 fans back at Stamford Bridge, his side may start as underdogs, but they relish that role. They have already beaten each of the supposed big six this season; now they could finish before at least three of them.

Tuchel has tried to downplay the importance of it. “We approach this like any other game, with a clear will and desire,” he said. And yet it has become a match to shape Chelsea’s future; maybe his, too. “I don’t like ‘win at all costs,’ that is not what we do,” he said. “We are in sports. It is not about life and death but it is super important for our ambitions.”