Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has disagreed with Ralf Rangnick's claim that a fourth-place finish is the best Manchester United can hope for in the Premier League this season.
United currently occupy the all-important final Champions League spot with West Ham, Arsenal, Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur trailing marginally behind.
As it stands, Chelsea sit four points ahead of United with a game in hand over Rangnick's side.
Speaking prior to his team's clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday, Tuchel claimed that his team aren't nailed on to finish in the top four, meaning United could yet finish even higher than fourth if they can string a run of results together.
“The 16 points [gap on Manchester City] sounds too much, is too much, to where we want to be and what we demand of ourselves, but it’s the reality,” he said.
“To reach your targets, a realistic approach is also necessary. So we should not get confused about winning the Premier League.
“And we still have to realise we are in the race for top four right now, which is a huge thing in Premier League in general. At the end of the season, you can look back and think about the reason why it is like this, and try to do stuff better.
“You can do stuff within the season, try to improve, and this is what we do. But right now the focus has to be on a realistic approach, that we are in the race for the top four, and that maybe in the moment things are not super easy for us."
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Tuchel's comments completely contradict those made by Rangnick recently, with the United boss claiming it was not possible for his side to finish any higher than fourth.
"We want to finish fourth in the league, this is the highest possible achievement we can get," he said.
"The Champions League, definitely we want to proceed but it's not an easy one.
"In the league, it's number four. That's what we have to achieve and what we're aiming at. Next season, after being here 11 weeks, I know what it takes for next season but it's not the time now to discuss this with everyone."
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