Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel ‘has Pep Guardiola’s number’ ahead of Champions League final

Chelsea: Tuchel hails momentum after beating Man City

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Rio Ferdinand has claimed if there is one manager to get the better of Pep Guardiola, then it’s Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel. The Chelsea boss has already beaten his opposite number on two occasions since replacing Frank Lampard in January, as he looks to make it three from three when the two teams collide in the Champions League final.

Tuchel saw his side come from behind to win at the Etihad last Saturday in the Premier League to gain a small psychological advantage with Istanbul on the horizon.

While City have now been crowned Premier League champions this season, they know the Blues have what it takes to wreck their European dream.

According to BT Sport pundit Ferdinand, you cannot underestimate the importance of Chelsea’s two wins over City since Tuchel arrived at the club.

“It seems Tuchel has his number at the moment. If there’s one manager on the planet, then Tuchel is that guy,” Ferdinand said.

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“Will there be a bit of a carryover from those two results? I think there will, yeah.

“There will be an underlying uncertainty, there won’t be a pure 100 percent conviction that they have going into every game usually.

“The only thing I’d say about Chelsea, what he’s been able to do against the top teams and in the Champions League, he’s made teams alter the way they play against them.

“He’s made it scruffy at times, they’re a hard team to play against, they’re rough, ready, aggressive, quick in transitions, they’re not an easy team to turn over.

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“Pep knows he’s in for a game this time and tactically Tuchel is an astute manager.”

While Tuchel was keen to play down the significance of the win over City ahead of their Champions League final meeting, he did admit that his side will take extra belief to Turkey because they know they can beat their opponents.

“Sure it gives us confidence,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s all about performance and confidence.

“We know very well and I’ve said this before and I will repeat it, we know that the final is a very unique game.

“You cannot predict what will happen so you need to be well prepared.

“We will have some changes and they will have some changes again but we arrive with the knowledge that we are capable of beating them.

“This is what we have and this will not change ahead of the game.”

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