Man City v Chelsea: Thomas Tuchel insists Etihad clash will have no bearing on Istanbul showpiece

Thomas Tuchel insists Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Man City at the Etihad is NOT a dress rehearsal for the Champions League final and will have no bearing on Istanbul showpiece

  • Thomas Tuchel says Saturday’s game will have no bearing on the European final
  • Chelsea face Manchester City in what is a Champions League dress rehearsal
  • Days after qualifying for the Istanbul showpiece, they play each other in England
  •  However, Tuchel says the Premier League game will have no bearing on the final

Thomas Tuchel insists the Champions League final will be a ‘unique’ occasion regardless of what happens in Saturday’s dress rehearsal.

Just days after they both qualified for the May 29 showpiece in Istanbul, finalists Manchester City will host Chelsea at the Etihad.

Chelsea beat City in last month’s FA Cup semi-final and Saturday’s tea-time Premier League clash represents an opportunity to lay down another marker ahead of the final three weeks later.

Thomas Tuchel insists Chelsea’s clash with Man City on Saturday will have no bearing on the Champions League final at the end of the month

But Tuchel said: ‘The possibility that they can become champions if they win against us will not lower the ambition and determination.

‘They have one more day to recover and they don’t have to travel gives them a bit the upper hand because we saw how crucial that can be these days.

‘When they arrived at Wembley in the semi-final and we had one more day and they had to travel from Dortmund and then again to London and had one less day than us and I had the feeling that I could feel it on the side line that it gives us a bit the upper hand so we have to deal with it.

The two Champions League finalists play each other days after booking their spots in the final

The two Champions League finalists play each other days after booking their spots in the final

‘The final in Istanbul will be pretty unique no matter what the score is tomorrow. No matter if they win, if we win or if we draw.

‘Both teams will reflect enough that this one game in football and this special game in Istanbul can turn any result around that is the outcome tomorrow so I try to prepare it in a normal way.

‘The challenge right now is to get our tiredness out of the legs and brains, get re-focused and this is the target right now. To be in good shape tomorrow and then we’ll see.’