The Champions League draw was held on Thursday at 5 pm UK time in Turkey. Chelsea was drawn in Group E, along with AC Milan, RB Salzburg, and Dinamo Zagreb.
Chelsea is expected to top their group with AC Milan the only club that is likely to pose a challenge to the North London Club. The Italian Champions is the only club in the group that Chelsea had faced before. The last time Chelsea played AC Milan in the Champions League was in 1999 when they were drawn into the same group.
However, Thomas Tuchel has insisted that there is no easy group in the Champions League and Chelsea are focused on qualifying from their group.
What was Thomas Tuchel’s assessment of Chelsea’s Champions League group?
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League encounter with Leicester City, Thomas Tuchel said: “I cannot care less about all the other groups! I only care about our group. I think we need to be fast with away tickets because the family of Mateo Kovacic is buying all that we have. After all, it is in Austria, Croatia, and his former city when he played for Inter and we are playing AC. I think he is buying all the tickets that are available so this is where the focus is for our players to get tickets for family and friends!
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“It is always a difficult group. I have never experienced an easy group in the Champions League. I don’t care about names, which league, if this is our level or not. If we have to we want to go through. I have only experienced difficult group phases even if it looks from the outside if it’s easy and clear. These matches are tough. It’s the toughest competition. I am happy I will play against teams and in stadiums I have never played before. From there we go.”
Thomas Tuchel also admitted that he will be happy to see the transfer window close so as to focus on his squad and build a strong group.
Thomas Tuchel revealed: “I always enjoy working with every team and I think this is the foundation for being a good manager, that you enjoy what you’re doing and you embrace the team that you have and don’t focus on what you don’t have or what you could have if things were different.
“I love the group. We speak a lot about the transfer window but the good thing about this when it closes is you know this is your group and there are no more distractions.
“This is also for the players who maybe struggle at the moment with their decisions – where do I go, should I go, do I have an offer or not, what is my role?
“From the first of September this is clear and this will also give us a boost to build a strong squad and a strong group and an atmosphere within the group that carries us. I’m enjoying the challenge to build a new group and the challenge to be in the middle of the Premier League.”
