Press Conference: Thomas Tuchel on Werner, Kovacic, Real Madrid, Fulham and more

Chelsea are set to face Fulham on Saturday as the Premier League action resumes. The Blues picked up a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in the first-leg of the Champions League semi-finals in the midweek with the second-leg scheduled this week. Ahead of the Fulham match head coach Thomas Tuchel has talked to the press and here is what he said. On team news and injuries: "No, unfortunately not. He (Kovacic) trained but still not fully comfortable. Antonio Rudiger is also out, he picked up an injury in the last minute against Madrid." On Andreas Christensen's new contract: "I think it is best if he talks on the pitch, if he plays like he plays then he has the right to be here. I am happy he is here, he is happy here is here." On Real Madrid clash in the UCL second-leg: "Fulham is a good chance to keep our advantage in the league, nothing else. I know very well it is a match between two semi finals, it is not a usual week but I am happy. It is the moment to prove to ourselves that we can focus our energy into tomorrow's game." On Chelsea's progress so far: "Maybe you hold yourself back. There are no expectations in terms of points, what title, if we reach X then we are successful. Not in academy football, France, Germany or here. What we do is we push ourselves to the limit and demand the best from ourselves." On relentless schedule: "It's brutal. We played in France the same amount of games and we got the impression but of course the challenge and intensity of this league is different. It is another level, quite relentless. But it keeps you on your front foot and getting out of bed early. There is simply no time to breathe, to sit back and get too relaxed or comfortable. This is a good thing." On Ruben Loftus-Cheek's future: "It is not decided yet. I was quite a fan of him when he was younger. He reminded me of Michael Ballack. There were links with him moving to Germany. We are well aware of his talent. I don't know why things have not worked out as he wished but now he is doing good. I cannot judge him from TV and hearsay, I love to work with players then to give my opinion." On Timo Werner's lack of goals: "Do we wish for more goals? Yes. Does he wish for more goals? Yes. What I mean is he should kepe his head up because he can trust his instincts and that he keeps focusing to score, this is what he does. This is what he needs to do." On social media boycott: "It's always good to set signs and a strong sign, signal, that anything we can join and show that institutions are together is worth trying. It will never be enough, we can always do more but if a campaign like this is on, we are fully committed." On Billy Gilmour game time: "Could be tomorrow but it is not decided. N'Golo feels good, Jorginho looks good. We miss Kova a lot, I have even the feeling that Jorginho and N'Golo can even step upo in doing everything to recover as fast as possible. They both looked good in training. The decision will be made later today or tomorrow morning. Billy will be in the squad tomorrow." Source- football.london *Join us on Telegram!/ Follow us on Twitter!

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