Chelsea's season has been hit by injury and Covid woes and Thomas Tuchel hasn't been shy in saying just that as an explanation to why his side has fallen foul of not making it a three-horse title race in the Premier League.
"Today other key players are missing in Mateo Kovacic, who was so decisive at the beginning of the season, same with N'Golo Kante, same with Ben Chilwell. This was the story of the season. The big difference is Man City and Liverpool, in these moments, a full squad available and we struggled with Covid periods and long-term injuries. This is more decisive than the other thing. We had weeks where we were composed and strong and efficient in front of goal," Tuchel reflected after the 1-1 draw against Man United.
And he's right. Throughout the season, key stars in the defence, midfield and attack have all been sidelined with different issues that haven't really cropped up at Liverpool and Man City, Most recently, losing arguably the best player of the season Mateo Kovacic to an ankle injury has had a big effect on midfield dynamism in the last few games.
