Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel held secret talks with new owner Todd Boehly ahead of FA Cup final

Thomas Tuchel concedes catching Manchester City and Liverpool next season may be beyond Chelsea with the club takeover still to be concluded.The Blues have qualified for the Champions League for the 18th time in 21 years and go into the final afternoon - at home to Watford - guaranteed third place. But with the gap to league leaders City at 19 points, the Londoners clear face a huge battle to become authentic title challengers by August.And, as the proposed American consortium buy-out of the club’s sanctioned Russian owner Roman Abramovich drags on, Tuchel fears they are now way off the pace in terms of a summer rebuild.The German coach said: “We will try but I’m not sure what the possibilities are and, of course, we are late because other clubs can take players.

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has revealed that teammate N’Golo Kante often talks in ‘clicks’ rather than responding to simple questions.The midfielder is often spoken about in the media for his happy grin and humble approach to life in the limelight. But there is certainly more to Kante than what is already widely known.Speaking to The Players’ Tribune, Rudiger revealed: “Everything I said to this guy (Kante), he would just look at me and nod his head, like he thought everything I said was really interesting. And he would do this thing … I don’t really know how to explain it on paper.

Tottenham fans have been left fuming after John Cena was spotted at Chelsea's draw with Leicester City despite being a Spurs fan. The WWE superstar and actor was spotted sitting in front of future Chelsea owner Todd Boehly ahead of the 1-1 draw against the Foxes on Thursday night.

Chelsea defenders still want to play for the club by giving a masterclass against Leicester.And he also showed he isn't just England's best right back after bossing much of the second half of Thursday night's 1-1 draw in midfield. With Antonio Rudiger playing his last game at Stamford Bridge and FA Cup Final no-show Andreas Christensen nowhere to be seen, James took centre stage.And after James Madison's early opener for Leicester, he conjured an equaliser for Marcos Alonso with a lovely piece of skill. James is already Gareth Southgate's first choice on the right of the England defence, despite some fierce competition.But the 22-year-old is so talented, and was so good in this game, he ended up playing in the heart of the engine room.

Antonio Rudiger has spoken about his frustrations over Chelsea contract negotiations as he prepares to wave goodbye to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea reportedly nearing completion.The American was in the stands as the Blues drew 1-1 with Leicester City on Thursday (May 19) evening, just as he had been for the home match with Wolves earlier in the month. He wasn't the only famous face in attendance, with WWE legend John Cena also watching on.They weren't treated to a home win with James Maddison's early opener for the visitors cancelled out by Marcos Alonso's 33rd minute strike to leave it honours even in the penultimate game of the season.

Chelsea fans were absolutely flabbergasted by Christian Pulisic after the American produced one of the misses of the season against Leicester City on Thursday night.In an almost a carbon-copy of his performance against Liverpool in the FA Cup final on Saturday, the 23-year-old looked lively but couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo to continue his miserable week in front of goal on what was his 50th start for the club.After creating a pocket of space in the box, Romelu Lukaku received the ball from Reece James before cutting it across goal for Pulisic who, after skipping away from his marker, seemed to have a simple tap-in from six-yards.But the winger took his eye off the ball at the vital moment and failed to get a clean connection, slicing the shot well wide of the post as a very relieved Kasper Schmeichel counted his lucky stars.The disbelief on the faces of both Pulisic and Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel painted one heck of an emotive picture, and their reactions were more than echoed on social media."Miss of the season contender by Pulisic," one supporter tweeted."That Pulisic miss doesn't surprise me.

Thomas Tuchel’s side have a much superior goal difference, meaning third place is all but assured.Here are two things Tuchel got right, and three he got wrong at Stamford Bridge.All eyes were on Romelu Lukaku, but it was Chelsea’s left wing-back Alonso who found the equaliser after Maddison’s opener, getting on the end of an inch-perfect pass from James. For a defender, Alonso has a very handy record in front of goal – especially from volleys, for which he has become somewhat of an expert.

Thomas Tuchel has fumed at Andreas Christensen for pulling out of the Chelsea squad on the day of the final in the FA Cup.The Danish defender is set to leave the Blues at the end of the season for Barcelona as his contract expires. But Tuchel has still fumed at his player after he said he 'wasn't ready to play' against Liverpool, and he claimed it's not the first time.Tuchel said: "Andreas came the morning of the match to tell me he's not ready. He had his reasons, they stay private and confidential.

Chelsea are reportedly looking to sign Eintracht Frankfurt's Luka Hyrylainen once their current ban is lifted.The 17-year-old is being watched by a number of Europe's top sides, and Chelsea are reportedly ready to swoop once their sanctions have been lifted, and they are free to trade again. The defensive midfielder is already representing Finland U19's, and has one year remaining on his contract with Frankfurt.Hyrylainen has starred for Frankfurt's youth side this season, and could join Chelsea as Thomas Tuchel eyes a new long-term defensive midfielder.

Chelsea should ditch Timo Werner and sign Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez this summer, according to Tony Cascarino. The Blues are to end the season trophyless following defeat on penalties by Liverpool in the FA Cup final on Saturday. The loss was their second against Jurgen Klopp ’s side on penalties in major finals this season after defeat in the Carabao Cup final back in February.

Chelsea after refusing to take part in Sunday’s FA Cup Final.Christensen was expected to start for the Blues at Wembley but dropped a bombshell on the morning of the game saying he was not ready to play - which did not go down well with Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, whose injury-hit side went on to lose on penalties to Liverpool.Daily Star Sport understands a source close to Christensen claimed the player was unwell during the week and did not think he was going to start, but his behaviour nonetheless shocked his team-mates.The defender, who is expected to join Barcelona as a free agent when his contract runs out this summer, has had an uneasy relationship with Tuchel since he was dropped earlier this season as the stand-off over his contract raged and uncertainty over his future grew.But the Denmark international left his Blues team-mates shocked and confused when he disappeared from team hotel before Saturday's game, and he is now unlikely to feature in Chelsea’s final two games of the season against Leicester and Watford.Christensen joined the London club in 2012 from Danish side Brondby, but didn't manage to get regular first-team football until he returned from a successful two-year loan spell with Borussia Monchengladbach in 2017.Who should Chelsea buy to replace Andreas Christensen? Let us know what you think in the comments sectionThe 26-year-old has started just 17 Premier League games this season but was in line to face Liverpool having played the full 90 minutes of Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Leeds last Wednesday.This time last year, Christensen was being lauded by fans after coming on as a first half substitute for the injured Thiago Silva during the Champions League final against Manchester City.He then played out

infamously insisted that his words were 'just banter', though Chelsea fans will be horrified to learn that isn't the case this time.The former Sky Sports presenter, who now heads up beIN SPORTS, was speaking to co-host Andy Gray about where the London club should spend their money this summer and urged Blues boss Thomas Tuchel to go out and get Harry Maguire, despite the Manchester United defender's torrid recent form.Ambitious moves for Tottenham's Harry Kane and West Ham's Declan Rice were mentioned, which got Keys fantasising about an all-English spine, but Gray couldn't help but snort derisively once Maguire's name was added to the mix."Are you serious? Harry Maguire? He's had an awful season," the former Scotland international said."But that doesn't make him an awful player," Keys responded.

Ukraine. But after Sunday's shoot-out defeat, Rudiger said: "I don't want to go too deep into things.

Chelsea fell at the hands of Liverpool in Saturday's FA Cup final but one eagle-eyed football fan picked up on one tactical blunder that left his side short going into the spot-kicks.After 120 minutes without a goal to split the sides, penalties were needed to separate the two teams. The London side expected to have the psychological edge over Jurgen Klopp's side when the coin toss saw the players shooting toward the Chelsea fans.

Erik ten Hag is ready to kickstart his Manchester United tenure with the blockbuster signing of Premier League and Champions League winning Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante. Kante, 31, has been at Stamford Bridge since leaving Leicester in 2016 but has just one more season on the five-year contract extension he signed in 2018 - which is thought to have boosted his wages to £290,000 per week.

Chelsea's bench tried to gain an upper hand during their FA Cup final penalty shootout defeat by encouraging their fans to make noise as each Liverpool player stepped up to take their spot-kick. It must've felt like deja vu for Blues fans as they suffered a second shootout loss to Liverpool in the space of three months.

Liverpool fans booed every Chelsea but one when the teams were read out at Wembley ahead of their FA Cup on Saturday.Chelsea's Spanish shot-stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga was the only Blues man to avoid the jeers of the Merseyside faithful, according to AnfieldWatch. Kepa had been the only man to miss a spot-kick when the two sides had met in February for the Carabao Cup final.Kepa picked the ball out of his net ten times before blazing his penalty over the bar to hand Liverpool the trophy.

FA Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool, it remained goalless at half-time. While the Reds had efforts saved by Blues keeper Edouard Mendy, the defence also sprung into action to keep Liverpool at bay.

FA Cup final.Chelsea go toe-to-toe against Liverpool in what has already been an entertaining affair, but one thing has taken Blues fans by surprise. Despite being listed as the 'home' side for the fixture, and with no kit clash against the Reds, many were left scratching their heads when Chelsea emerged in a full yellow kit.The west London side have history in the competition when wearing their yellow away strip, having lifted the cup after beating Everton in the 2009 final.

Chelsea fans have developed an FA Cup conspiracy theory based on the colour of the trophy's ribbons.Before the final between the Blues and Liverpool, Match of the Day host Gary Lineker uploaded a video to Twitter showing the famous old trophy, adorned with red ribbons. Despite red being the colour of FA Cup sponsor Emirates, Chelsea fans took the presence of the crimson trim to suggest a conspiracy in favour of Liverpool.