Thomas Tuchel and his Chelsea side have impressed for the majority of the season in all competitions, with the Blues currently sat in third. They are almost a certainty now for a top-four finish, despite pressure from the likes of Arsenal.
It's not just the Premier League where the current European and world champions have business to attend to. Chelsea still have great chances to potentially defend their European crown and end their recent Wembley hoodoo. They face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final, a carbon copy of last season's semi-final, while Crystal Palace stand in the Blues' way of consecutive appearances in back to back FA Cup finals.
But first, Tuchel will just be enjoying his rare time to unwind before thinking about the last stretch of this 2021/22 campaign that has really exploded for the club due to what has happened to Roman Abramovich off the field and the ownership race that has followed since. "There will be long walks in the forest around here [with my dog] which is beautiful," he said before the break.
READ MORE: Chelsea star Conor Gallagher sent Crystal Palace transfer message by England teammate Marc Guehi
"Hopefully, the weather stays like this (sunshine). I'll be doing the normal stuff: taking care of the children, taking them to school, picking them up. Being around them is the best distraction I can have. I learned to do this [disconnect]. I had to. I found it very hard in the beginning as a professional coach. I struggled a lot with it, to not be able to switch off, to not think about it night and day. It is always like this. If you love something so much and have a passion for football, and then it becomes your profession, it is not at five or six o'clock that you leave and drive home and tomorrow you're finished.
"There are still games on, thoughts about players and what to do. It is sometimes still like it but I have trained myself that it is not good to stay in the process and in the mind and thinking process too long. Everybody needs to disconnect, breathe and see clearer. I had to learn it for myself and I am still training myself. I need to be disciplined in it and like I said my dogs and kids help as a natural source of inspiration and enjoyment to calm down. You have to take care of yourself to not get totally lost in it."
While Tuchel enjoys some much deserved and needed time off, football.london takes a look at how his side have fared this season after the international break with Brentford in mind.
Chelsea 3-0 Aston Villa- September 11 2021
Chelsea came into the Aston Villa game after a near-perfect start to this Premier League campaign. Romelu Lukaku was playing well at this time and all was rosy around west London. Lukaku continued his hot start to his Chelsea homecoming with two brilliant goals against Dean Smith's side and even Mateo Kovacic netted a rare goal in this fixture as the Blues were labelled as title favourites in the early stages of the season by the likes of Gary Neville.
Brentford 0-1 Chelsea- October 16 2021
After this international break ended, despite the Southampton win prior, Tuchel's side had started to falter a little with tight losses against Man City and Juventus in different competitions threatening to bring Chelsea down to earth. They did respond but in a very fortunate way after an inspired Brentford side really were unfortunate to come away from this west London derby with zero points as Ben Chilwell's sole strike was enough for the Blues to escape on this occasion with all three points.
Leicester 0-3 Chelsea- November 20 2021
Chelsea were still going strong in the league at this point despite a minor setback against Burnley before this international break but Tuchel's side got right back on it after his Blues outfit hit three away from home against Leicester. It was a game remembered for the brilliance of both Chelsea's first choice-full backs. Unfortunately, as December approached, things went downhill quickly after an injury and covid crisis had unsettled the rhythm of the Blues dressing room.
However, as shown by the results above, Chelsea have always done well after the international break so they will be hoping to make it four out of four this season as they host Brentford upon their return.
