Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel serves fitness warning to his players ahead of Real Madrid tie

Thomas Tuchel warns his Chelsea players ahead of Real Madrid clash in the UEFA Champions League

Speaking after his team’s game against West Ham United on Saturday (h/t Express), Thomas Tuchel stated that Chelsea players must be ‘very careful’ with their recovery ahead of a massive tie against Real Madrid.

Chelsea took on the Hammers in a very important Premier League game this weekend. Three points for either side would massively boost their chances for Champions League qualification as the Premier Leagues season reaches its conclusive stage.

And the Blues prevailed, with a Timo Werner first-half goal enough to hand them the win. But the game was intense and the fact that Chelsea have had no free mid-weeks since the international break means fitness strain on the squad.

That is why Tuchel believes that his players need to be careful with the recovery process in the two days they have before they make the trip to Madrid next week.

“We suffered a bit with their intensity, but I think we deserved to win. It’s a very important win… Today we played at a high, high level against a strong opponent. It was a good response. We only have two days to recover. We need to be very careful now in the recovery process.”

Chelsea saw off FC Porto in the quarter-finals to earn their berth in the final-four of the most prestigious club competition in Europe. And things seem great considering the Blues also extended their lead over Liverpool this weekend.

Jurgen Klopp’s men drew to Newcastle United, which gave Chelsea the chance to build a 4-point gap over the Reds in 4th place. With 5 games remaining in the season, this win against West Ham could prove to be vital.

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But with such an intense period of fixtures, the team must heed to Tuchel’s warning and the German himself must manage his resources carefully to make sure the Blues have their best players available for the all-important games.