Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea returned to winning ways in the Premier League on Wednesday night because his side were more focused and disciplined than they have been in recent weeks. Goals from Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leeds United as the Blues tightened their grip on a place in next season's Champions League.
They're now four points clear of fourth-placed Arsenal and eight ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. With the two of those playing each other in tonight's North London Derby, Chelsea could officially qualify for Europe's elite competition when the final whistle blows if Arsenal manage not to lose the game.
Nevertheless, Chelsea will be focused on what they can do on the pitch until the end of the season. Disappointing results against Everton and Wolves meant that they needed to claim a victory on Wednesday, and Tuchel has since explained how they were capable of achieving that short-term objective.
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He told Chelsea: "We needed to step up, there was a reason why we conceded goals and we did this as a team. It was nothing new that we did today but we did it on a much higher level of focus and discipline than in the last matches. We played very, very well from the very first minute and I was very happy with the level of focus and the level of determination and the level of support that we showed. We were strong in the challenges, we were brave in defending, we supported each other so I was very happy with the performance over the whole 90 minutes."
The three points did come with a blow, however, as Mateo Kovacic limped off injured following a dangerous tackle from Dan James. The Leeds United winger was sent off for the challenge, but Tuchel has conceded that Kovacic is now likely to miss the FA Cup final with Liverpool on Saturday.
He added: "I tell you not as a coach and not as an expert but for me it is very unlikely [Kovacic will be fit]. He played in the Carabao Cup final and the semi-final of the FA Cup with the same injury and he tried to play more minutes here, but it was almost impossible so he came off and he has a swollen ankle and is in a lot of pain. We need to wait for the examination but it is very unlikely and that is absolutely bad news for us of course."
