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Danyal Khan & Jake Stokes

Thomas Tuchel delivers six-word verdict to Chelsea fans and players ahead of Palmeiras final

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has sent his six-word message to the Blues faithful ahead of their biggest game so far this season in the Club World Cup final against Palmeiras.

The Blues scraped through to Saturday's showpiece event after a sole Romelu Lukaku goal was enough for the European champions to overcome Al Hilal.

They did it without Tuchel, who was back in the UK at the time after he faced a race against time to make his third final in his Chelsea spell after he tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Plymouth FA Cup tie last weekend.

"We hope he can come. We have 30 hours to the game. He follows the rules and protocols," Zsolt Low said in his pre-match press conference.

"Still a lot of time. We hope he can come but if not we are well prepared, we have a lot of meetings.

"We talk about the game, we analyse the game and see what we can do better. We're absolutely clear what to do better in the second game."

It was touch and go as to whether the German would make it or whether Low and co. would be tasked with coaching the team in the final, but Tuchel, who arrived last night, was all smiles in his pre-match interview with Channel 4 as he relishes the challenge ahead.

"It is difficult as a coach if you cannot be with your team in a competition like this. You never know if you will play this competition one more time. But it was the moment to trust the players and trust my coaching staff and my assistants. This is what we did. We were in contact but it’s never the same, so I’m happy I could be here now," he said pre-match.

"It will be kind of an away game, but it’s not a problem. The players are used to this. Palmeiras are a high individual quality team. They are used to defending. They can do it relentlessly. They maybe have an Atletico Madrid style of playing. They can hurt any second in transition.

"They play long balls direct into the attackers. They create chances with their quality, and they can sit back deep and close spaces. This is what we expect. We want to have the control."

He then went on to send a six-word message to the fans which will inspire them ahead of the clash.

Tuchel said: "We want to win it all."

You can follow live coverage of this season's Club World Cup final between Cheslea and Palmeiras here.

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