Chelsea’s top-four race is ‘not done’ despite sealing vital Leicester win, warns Thomas Tuchel

Thomas Tuchel insisted the Premier League’s top-four race is “not done” after his Chelsea side defeated Leicester to leave their Champions League qualification hopes in their own hands.

Second-half goals from Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho earned Chelsea a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge to avenge Saturday’s FA Cup final defeat to Brendan Rodgers’ side.

The result moved Chelsea above Leicester in the Premier League table ahead of the final day of the season and the Blues will secure third place if they beat Aston Villa on Sunday.

Tuchel also praised the impact of the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge, as supporters returned to Premier League stadiums for the first time since December.

“It was an outstanding performance but the job is not done,” Tuchel told BBC Sport. “The fans made a huge difference. The speed in our game, the hunger, the ambition. It was a very strong performance and I’m delighted the team can present itself like this in front of our fans.

“It’s still in our hands. We need another huge performance but with fans in the Aston Villa ground it will be super hard.”

Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal last week meant that Leicester would have secured their place in the top four with three points at Stamford Bridge tonight, while it also left Liverpool with the opportunity to qualify for the Champions League with wins in their final two games.

“We were fired up from our loss against Arsenal,” Tuchel added. “Today we did what we do. We played courageous, high intensity, aggressive. Happy to have the win but I need to repeat, it’s not done.”

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