Chelsea email

THOMAS TUCHEL made it a dozen games unbeaten as Chelsea boss but will not be celebrating after his team blew the chance to go third in the Premier League.
And the big worry is that their Champions League spot is under increased threat as a result.

Tyler Roberts beat Edouard Mendy with a long-range shot in the first half, with the Blues rescued only by the barCredit: Rex Features

Patrick Bamford was taken off in the first-half with an injuryCredit: PA:Press Association

A point at Elland Road leaves Chelsea three points ahead of fifth-placed West Ham.
But the Hammers now have two games in hand on Tuchel’s side to crank up the pressure on the goal-shy Blues.
Chelsea even had keeper Edouard Mendy to thank for earning them a draw thanks to an outstanding save to thwart Raphinha in a game of few highlights.
The Brazilian was unlucky not to put Leeds ahead when he shot on the turn inside the box on 55 minutes.

His low drive caught keeper Mendy off guard and wrong-footed but the 6ft 5in Senegalese reacted quickly and palmed the ball clear of danger.
Chelsea have struggled to score of late despite tightening up their defence and needed an own goal and a penalty to see off Everton last Monday.
Leeds have scored more goals than any team in the bottom half of the table but found it hard to make a breakthrough even though they deserve credit for holding in-form Chelsea.
Leeds did have a goal rightly ruled out for offside when their former academy product Patrick Bamford failed to time a great run well enough and was just the wrong side of Chelsea’s defence when he started a run to latch onto a high ball forwards.

Neither side were able to break the deadlock in the first-half at Elland RoadCredit: Reuters

Both bosses cut frustrated figures during the goalless opening 45 minutesCredit: Mark Robinson – The Sun
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He raced all the way through to the box and teed up Tyler Roberts to stroke the ball hom only for the linesman to raise his flag at the end of the move.
Leeds did get some luck though in the first ten minutes when Diego Llorente smashed a clearance in his box against team-mate Luke Ayling.
The ball cannoned high into the air only to hit the Leeds bar and drop into the arms of relieved United keeper Illan Meslier.
For all the neat and tidy possession play and energy there were precious few clear cut chances and Tuchel will be disappointed that yet again his team could not make the most of the opportunities that did come their way.

Both sides had chances to win it but the final score ended 0-0Credit: PA:Press Association
With 12 minutes left Mendy saved Chelsea again when Bamford’s replacement Rodrigo headed straight at the keeper from a corner.
Tuchel made six changes to the team which won on Monday with a view to next Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 second leg at home to Atletico Madrid in mind.
Mason Mount and Jorginho started because both are suspended for the midweek game with Chelsea leading 1-0 in the tie.
This is Leeds’ second goalless game of the season – they drew 0-0 with Arsenal in November.
And while they will be happy to take a point from Chelsea, top-scorer Bamford’s injury will be a concern.

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EDOUARD MENDY has set a Premier League record after becoming the ONLY goalkeeper to have kept a clean sheet in over half of his matches.
Frank Lampard fought with club brass to sign a new goalkeeper in the summer after losing faith in Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Edouard Mendy boasts the best clean sheet record in PL history

And the sacked boss’ decision has been proven to be a good one, with Thomas Tuchel now reaping the rewards.
Still early in his Premier League career, Mendy – for now, at least – is the best goalkeeper in division history in terms of clean sheets.
Of the 210 goalkeepers to have played at least ten top-flight matches, NONE boast a better clean sheets ratio than the Senegalese ace.
Mendy has kept 12 clean sheets in just 22 matches – most-recently in the 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday night.

That means Mendy has shut an opponent out in 55 per cent of his games – with no other stopper breaking the 50 per cent mark historically.
Ex-Arsenal stopper Emiliano Martinez – now Aston Villa No1 – has kept clean sheets in exactly 50 per cent of his 38 games (19).
Manchester City star Ederson boasts an incredibly strong return, too.
The Brazilian has kept 67 clean sheets in 135 games at a touch under 50 per cent, with the huge sample size only making that figure more impressive.

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Tuchel is indebted to predecessor Lampard for bringing Mendy to West LondonCredit: Reuters

Ex-Gunners back-up stopper Alex Manninger managed to keep clean sheets in 47 per cent of his 38 games (18).
And former Manchester United stopper Anders Lindegaard also achieved a 47 per cent clean sheet rate, with nine in 19 games.
But while Mendy’s stats have been impressive in his debut season, a huge amount of credit must go to the defence.
After all, Liverpool mustered just one shot on target on Thursday, with Mendy a bystander for much of the game.
N’Golo Kante was unstoppable as he kept the Reds at arm’s length for the full 90 minutes.
But Andreas Christensen was also a rock in place of the injured Thiago Silva – with Tuchel reserving praise for both after the victory on Merseyside.

Tuchel says he is very very happy after Chelsea’s defeat of Liverpool as he knows what it takes More

THOMAS TUCHEL piled praise on ‘gift’ N’Golo Kante after his incredible performance against Liverpool – with the stats backing up the Chelsea boss.
Mason Mount stole the show with a superb, match-winning goal just minutes before half-time.

N’Golo Kante was in unstoppable form against Liverpool on Thursday

But Blues boss Tuchel was quick to single out ‘incredible’ Kante for his tireless work during the 1-0 win at Anfield.
Kante, 29, continually snuffed out Liverpool attacks before they could even begin, before setting a counter-attack in motion.
The French ace won four key tackles, while also racking up four interceptions and clearances to go with 13 successful ground duels.
Then in attack, Kante got the all important assists, while also boasting an 100 per cent success rate with his four long balls forward.

On top of that, Kante completed every single one of his attempted dribbles in an unstoppable display at Anfield.
And after the game, ecstatic Tuchel told RMC Sport: “[Kante] is a gift. It’s incredible.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. At training, in games, he never stops.
“We look at the data on his intensity and he is incredible.”

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Tuchel concluded: “He really is a gift.”
Andreas Christensen also put in a superb performance in the absence of Thiago Silva – who has returned to training following a month-long absence.
And Tuchel was quick to credit the Dane for his strong showing on Merseyside after he won all of his aerial duels, made nine clearances and completed 91.5 per cent of his passes.
The Chelsea chief added: “He is brave, strong in individual challenges and very brave and intelligent in our build-up.
“He plays with a lot of confidence and I am absolutely happy with his performance.
“How he has stepped up is a big part of our performances.”
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Tuchel says he is very very happy after Chelsea’s defeat of Liverpool as he knows what it takes More

LIVERPOOL host Chelsea in a massive six-pointer in the race for a Premier League top-four spot tonight.
The Blues sit one point and one place above the injury-stricken Reds in fifth and sixth respectively.

How Klopp and Tuchel compare ahead of Liverpool vs Chelsea

And in what could be a tense affair, it could all come down to which manager gets their tactics right.
Jurgen Klopp, 53, and Thomas Tuchel, 47, will do battle in what is somewhat-crudely being dubbed ‘Master vs Apprentice’.
The two have played against each other 14 times dating back to their time together in Germany, with Klopp winning NINE of their 14 encounters, losing just twice.
Most-recently, Klopp’s Liverpool faced Tuchel’s PSG in the 2018-19 group stage, with the bosses winning one game apiece.

Eerily, the two German bosses have followed a similar career path, with Tuchel just a few years behind.
Both got their managerial break at Mainz – with Tuchel also running the show at Augsburg’s second XI.
Klopp and Tuchel both then moved to Borussia Dortmund.
After starring at the Bundesliga club, the two bosses were then lured away by European giants.

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Klopp and Tuchel have somewhat-crudely been dubbed ‘Master’ and ‘Apprentice’Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Klopp, of course, took over at Liverpool replacing Brendan Rodgers, while Tuchel succeeded Unai Emery at Paris Saint-Germain.
Tuchel recently took over from Frank Lampard at Chelsea having been harshly sacked by PSG.
And the Blues boss is hardly thrilled to compared to Klopp.
Tuchel claimed: “It’s nice to be compared, but it’s not nice because it does not tell the truth.
“We are not half as close as everybody thinks. It was not like I joined the academy of Mainz, and Jurgen was there as a head coach – that never happened.”
Klopp served as Mainz boss between 2001 and 2008, while Tuchel took over for five years between 2009 and 2014.
The now-Liverpool boss spent seven years at Dortmund between 2008 and 2015 before heading to Anfield.
The current Chelsea chief succeeded Klopp, joining in 2015 and leaving in 2017, before heading to PSG a year later.

Klopp and Tuchel’s career path has been eerily similar – but who’s on top?Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Klopp has taken charge of nearly TWICE as many matches as a football manager too, with 889 games under his belt to Tuchel’s 461.
Tuchel boasts the better win record at 56.6 per cent to 52.3 per cent – however, his stint at PSG (74.8 per cent) somewhat boosted his stats.
Aside from that though, Klopp is firmly in the lead in head-to-head scenarios.
Klopp has won three Big Five league titles with one Premier League crown and two Bundesliga titles, while Tuchel has won just two (both Ligue 1).
The Liverpool boss has also won the Champions League, unlike his rival.
In all, Klopp has nine career trophies compared to Tuchel’s seven – with the latter winning all but one (the DFB-Pokal) in the French capital.
All that goes out the window tonight though as the two go head-to-head knowing three points will be a huge step towards securing a Champions League spot for next season.
But who will come out on top? The ‘Master’ or the ‘Apprentice’?

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