Andreas Christensen wasn't involved in the FA Cup final. Will he be involved in the next two games, and what was the reason he pulled out of the game?
"I'm not sure yet if he is involved tomorrow or on the weekend. Andreas came in the morning of the match to inform me, to speak to me. He told me he was not ready to play the match, to start the match and be on the bench. He had his reasons. They stay private and confidential.
"It was not the first time, as you can see over the last weeks; we had some of the same situations. That's why he did not play regularly over the last weeks. We thought we are in a good progression development because he played a strong match before the final against Leeds. The conversation took place. We had to respect it. Of course. He has our support still, but for tomorrow I am unsure.
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Is he likely to be out for the weekend?
"Unlikely. It was very short notice before the cup final – and not only before this match. There were other matches the weeks before. So no chance I have a prediction before tomorrow or the weekend."
What's the other team news ahead of the game?
"Kai (Havertz) tries today in training. He did individual training yesterday but was not in team training. So it's still a big question mark. Timo (Werner) is out with a hamstring injury. Ben Chilwell was back in team training which was very, very good news and a big uplift for everybody and well deserved. So nice to see him back in training.
"Of course, not available for the match. Everybody could see that Kova (Mateo Kovacic) had a big swollen ankle after the match and did not train yesterday. So I'm not sure he will be available."
How pleased are you to have Ben Chilwell back in team training?
"We are desperate to have him back; he's one of our key players. At the same time, we are very impatient and happy that he is back and are looking forward to it. We are excited.
"At the same time, we have to be patient. It was a big injury, and he was out for a long time. So hopefully, he can reach his level as quickly as possible. He will need pre-season, our patience, and our support. This will start from July onwards."
Given Andreas didn't want to play...
"I don't think it's that he does not want to play, he was not able to play. It's a big difference. We had more than this conversation, but on Saturday morning, he finally told me."
What does this game tomorrow mean for you with a place in the top four already secured?
"My feeling was that the whole season we were in position in one, two, or three – somebody told me for one week we were place number four, I thought we were not. So it's not a good moment to start now to be fourth. We still have to play for us, our demands, and our fans.
"Most importantly, though, for our expectations and what we demand. We are very happy we secured a top-four place, this is what the first target when we start the season, what we play for, but still it is two home games, and we will do everything to win them for our feeling, our supporters and for a positive end of the season."
Have you spoken to Ruben Loftus-Cheek, having brought him on and then off during the FA Cup final?
"This was a ten-second conversation on the pitch and half a minute after the match. We put Ross (Barkley) in for penalties, it was a penalty decision. I am not sure if he would have been happy to shoot a penalty, he was not on the list, and this was due to statistics. Zero hard feelings, zero issues."
Will you use these last two games to make a few changes to your side, maybe look at players for next season or loanees?
"We will not play Conor Gallagher in the next two matches! I'm not sure yet, actually. Not sure yet. I am normally used to doing what is best for the next game, not for whatever. The guys that deserve it will play. We have one more training to go, and the situation changed slightly for us as you said.
"We are now safe after Newcastle beat Arsenal, we are safe in the top four. We come from a big cup final, we have players who are out through injury and others who will be out next season. Everybody deserves to play.
"For example, Toni (Antonio Rudiger) deserves to play. No need now to not let him play the last matches because he was huge for us and influential so let's see. Let's wait and see how everybody feels about it and who is hungry to perform. This will be the most decisive factor in the line-up."
Is there frustration among the team with Andreas Christensen's decision to pull out of the final?
"We had to accept it, and we will accept it. I try the best I can to not take things personally, and I still believe Andreas wanted to play these kinds of matches. I still believe he could in terms of potential and what he gives to the team, that's why he was a key player for us.
"He struggled over the last weeks, as you can see when he was not in the squad or not playing although he was physically available, not injured. That was not completely out of the blue sky. That's why it was, yeah, not the ideal scenario for us.
"We thought we prepared in the best way possible for him in Leeds, where he managed a lot of pressure on us in a very impressive way. We thought we had him available. He is a key player. If you arrive in a final against Liverpool, you want everybody available, which was not the case."
What's been the reaction to the FA Cup final defeat?
"I feel different levels of disappointment after matches and after finals, losses in general. Everybody was very disappointed and sad at the same time. We again had the feeling we left everything out there, so there is a different level of disappointment.
"Of course, we were so close. Arguably, we deserve more in these two finals, but Liverpool deserved it as well. We had no regrets again. I think this is a level of disappointment, a level of loss that we can get over quickly and continue because you are okay with yourself.
"That is what we demand of ourselves, of them. Let's see for tomorrow. Yesterday's training was good, with an atmosphere we want and looking up front. We had two days off to digest it. We absolutely want to be ready tomorrow."
What is the latest on the takeover? As you understand it, there seem to be a few issues?
"I am aware, but I have no new information and have not been informed about the character of the issues that have obviously arrived. Let's wait and see. I am still convinced that it is in good hands – not my hands, but hopefully good hands and better hands than my hands. Hopefully, it will go through as quickly as possible."
Will the likes of Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja be coming back in the summer?
"First of all, they will come back because they are our players. When we send them on loan, we do this for them but also for us to have better players, more experienced players back. They are our players, and I want to have them in pre-season, and then we decide what's going on.
"It's heavily linked to them, to how they integrate and what they do and what our ideas are for them and what they want to reach. It's heavily linked to our sanctions, and the situation around the club. It is too early to predict the future for them given the role of the whole season, but they will be back for pre-season, that's for sure."
There are two games still to play, but how would you assess the season as a whole?
"The season is not yet finished, but, of course, I refuse to judge the season by two penalty shootouts. If we won penalty shootouts, it would be maybe one of the most successful seasons with four titles. Okay, lost two penalty shootouts, but that does not make it less impressive what effort the team put in and what success we installed to reach these finals.
"We are the first to admit it is not the same to play a final as it is to win a final. We are the first ones to admit that we are here to win trophies, we compete on this kind of level not just to compete but to win.
"It's a bit like an imbalance in judging this season given the circumstances starting from a unique season again, struggled with Covid, long-term injuries, and then comes to a situation that nobody could predict: a war that had a huge effect on our club in particular. So, in the end, I think it's always the most important to look in the mirror after a season and find out if you gave everything, if everybody lived to their fullest. We did this.
"That's why I also told the team after the cup final that I am okay and proud of how we played cup finals and go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the world at the moment, given our situation of how we arrived there and how we played there. That will not change.
"There's always room for improvement, we are the first to admit it. We arrived at this cup game with key players already out, players not available, N'Golo (Kante) and Mateo with one or just half a training session. Taking this into account with the club sanctions, there are a lot of things that are quite impressive.
"Hopefully, we manage to become third, and there is a progression in it. We have constantly been in the top three in the toughest league, we now compete with maybe the best teams to ever play in this league. From there we go. Put it into perspective, there is no need to lose sleep after this season, but there's a lot of ambition in us that is not satisfied. From there we go. I think it's good to admit it. Not be too worried about it that we don't do this. It is at some level okay, maybe some level very good, but there is always room for improvement. We will not relax and give in too early."
Do you expect an open game tomorrow with not too much riding on it for either side?
"I am not sure I like the term open game so much, but they have found their form back and score a lot lately. They had a very up and down season, but at their top level, they are a dangerous team to everybody. They can hurt you in seconds with quality, speed, attacking mindset and fluid in attack.
"We will prepare for the very best version of Leicester, and we will need the very best version of us to be competitive. I don't want to predict the game because I don't know what's coming. Let's be open for everything. Hopefully, we find answers."
Are you hopeful that come the start of next season, everything will be in place as you need it at the club?
"We are hoping, but at the moment, we are not. You ask many times if we have a delay in approaching players and making plans, of course, a huge delay. We are affected by it, players are going out. We are rebuilding, not improving the squad. We are rebuilding. This is always challenging, but we are up for the challenge.
"I don't know where we are from day one. What I can promise is that I will be here – if I can promise that – I will be here with full energy and positive energy no matter what. We will still work for Chelsea, and I refuse to think of negative scenarios. We will be competitive, on which level we will see.
"On how the delay and sanctions will affect us, there is a risk. It will be very challenging to make up for the disadvantage, given the situation of the other two teams: City and Liverpool, who are already improving the squad and set one benchmark after the other in all aspects of the game.
"Things are not easier for us. Normally I would say we arrive in good spirit and the right mindset on the first day of preparation, then we create an atmosphere, work ethic and put all in to be ready on the first matchday of Premier League to win the game."
What is the situation with Callum Hudson-Odoi? It's been a long time since he was fit?
"He dropped out of the squad from one day to the other, more or less. Still, in individual training, progressing but not in team training. He will come early in pre-season like Chilwell to start a programme to be back on July 2 with team training."
After the cup final, you and the squad had days off. What did you do with them?
"Sunday, I did exactly nothing and Monday, more or less the same, I guess. I did not watch it [the FA Cup final] back yet. I was not ready for it. It does help the moment where I feel already on the sideline but also after the whistle that we lived up to the fullest. At this point, I can have freedom with it. I will never like the feeling I am disappointed, gutted. It's a different level of disappointment.
"I am not angry, not angry at myself also. It is like, 'okay, we played another 120 minutes, and of course, we will analyse it again, and we will look, it gives us a view of what we are capable of'. It was much more positive than negative and angry.
"I just try to relax physically because we had the chance and did absolutely normal stuff and went on from there to go into the last week where the tension is not the highest around you, you need to take care also about organisation stuff within the club, around the team to fix the dates, talk about pre-season, these things kick in now and take a huge amount of time. This is what we do at the moment. So no looking back to the final, at the moment."
