00:00Okay, good morning and thank you for joining us. We will take the usual format today with a broadcast section and a written section. We'll begin today's press conference with Soraya. Off you go, Soraya.
00:25Good morning. Good. Can we start with some team news? You said Asido was back to training. How's La Villar? Everyone else okay?
00:34Yeah, everyone is fine. Romeo still try to recover it. Dario, he was okay, started some sessions with us. Now he needs to slow down a little bit, so he will be out again.
00:54Hopefully nothing important. And the rest, they are all fine.
00:59And you're going to protect Rhys. We don't expect him to start after this.
01:04It's complicated. I would like to start him, but we need to do the right thing.
01:09I want to talk about Rhys James. You said famously, before you even met him, you sent him clips, seeing him in midfield.
01:16The performance against Arsenal was fantastic. Everyone spoke about Caicedo and Rhys, but he was the star that night.
01:23When you played him, you played him as right-back more, but when you played him in that midfield position, what is the goal?
01:28What is the tactical plan when you put him there?
01:31I think he can play in both positions. He has been full-back all his life. He also has played as a midfielder.
01:42But I think he can be good in both positions. When we decide for him as a midfielder, most of the time is also when we want physicality in terms of midfielder.
01:57When we face some teams that are strong in the middle. So it depends a little bit on the game plan.
02:03But as you said, he's doing very well in both positions.
02:10Sanchez. Sanchez has been one of the players that you had to speak a lot about.
02:14Mainly about his decision-making, but the progression we've seen in his play.
02:19Again against Arsenal, claiming crosses, he was one of the reasons why you could bypass their press with his long kicks, distributing properly.
02:27Was this always the standard and vision that you wanted for the goalkeeper in the way you wanted to play?
02:32I think Robert, in terms of saving, he has always been good since I joined the club. In terms of build-up, he struggled a little bit.
02:42But I said since day one, our build-up depends a little bit on how the other team press.
02:49So sometimes we go long, sometimes we go short. I think Robert's game against Arsenal has been one of his best games also in build-up.
02:58Because we play also some goal-kicks short when we arrive in the other box. He played four or five balls between the lines.
03:07One for Estevão, the other one for Malo. But sometimes we also need to go long.
03:12Two games ago against Berlin, we scored starting the second goal from Robert. So it's improving, especially in the build-up.
03:21You have Leeds next, a very traditional rivalry for Chelsea fans. There's a stat that when Chelsea play against lower-placed teams in the league,
03:30there's less intensity and less distance covered on the pitch against those teams in comparison to playing Arsenal or Liverpool or Manchester United.
03:39Is this done on purpose to maybe preserve legs and intensity of your players or is this more game-to-game, game-plan basis?
03:48No, probably it's also the way the other team try to defend against us. Again, when they try to do high pressing,
03:58so that means that you have more space, you can run more because there is more space to attack.
04:03When they just sit back, there is not a lot of space to cover in terms of running behind.
04:08So change a little bit. Personally, I think it depends on how the other teams behave.
04:16So I think this is the reason.
04:18Thanks, Soraya. Nizal?
04:20Hi, Nizal. I don't ask your team, but I was wondering if Cole Palmer might feature in this game.
04:25Has he got a chance of playing from the start and making a major impact throughout December?
04:32Or do you need to keep managing him?
04:34No, he is available. The last game he was on the bench, for sure.
04:40Win 10 players was more complicated for Cole because now he needs to come back in terms of also fitness conditions.
04:49He is available, he can start the game.
04:52The idea with him is to start giving minutes until he can play 90 minutes.
05:01Is your biggest challenge these next three games trying to replace Moises Caicedo
05:06because you used him in 50 out of your 51 Premier League games.
05:10So it's almost like new territory for you and Chelsea to try and find other midfielders maybe to replace him.
05:16Absolutely, yes. But for sure, again, we are a better team with Cole,
05:23we are a better team with Moy, we are a better team with Levi.
05:26But when these players are not available, we try to find a solution.
05:30We did the same thing with Levi, we did the same thing when Cole was out.
05:33And now we have to do something different because of Moy.
05:40Is Andre Santos ready to be the guy who steps up?
05:43Yeah.
05:44Because he probably struggled a little bit, I thought, in the beginning of the season,
05:46but he is just getting better and better, isn't he?
05:48Yeah, Andre is ready.
05:50His position, once again, is playing as a six, like Moy's position.
05:55But he is ready, we have more options, we have also risks, we can have different positions.
06:02I think one that can play good in that position is Josh, but we'll see.
06:08Thanks, Nizar.
06:10Simon?
06:11Chelsea have had quite a bit of praise for the performance against Barcelona and Arsenal.
06:18Is there a message you have to say to the players who don't get carried away,
06:23like Leeds and Bournemouth, for example, have to be treated exactly the same as these two more glamorous games?
06:29Yeah, I think Leeds and Bournemouth, both games, especially away, they are difficult for Chelsea,
06:37but they are difficult for any team.
06:40Now they're going to be a different game compared to Barcelona, Arsenal,
06:48and we need to be ready.
06:50We need to try to win both if we can, thinking that we always go game by game.
06:57So the first one is tomorrow and then we start to focus on the next one.
07:02What lessons do you think you as a coach and the players may have learned from about a year ago
07:09where everything is going well and then from the full of defeat moments on Boxing Day
07:14do you think that will actually help you to ensure there isn't a repeat?
07:20Yeah, no, no. For sure when you play games and you have experience, you're going to be better.
07:30Now, the main message for me is quite clear.
07:35How many points beating Barcelona? Three points.
07:38How many points beating Arsenal? Three points.
07:40How many points beating Leeds? Three points.
07:43It's the same point.
07:44So I understand that there are games that are more important for different reasons,
07:48but at the end it's three points.
07:50So it's important to beat Leeds because we need to win games.
07:55Jamie?
07:56Hi, Andrew. Just the one from me.
07:59Daniel Parker, who you'll face tomorrow night.
08:02On Saturday in the defeat of the Etihad, he seemed to imply that Donnarumma was feigning injury
08:07to give Pep Guardiola that chance to talk to his team and reset.
08:11You obviously know Pep very well as well.
08:13Is that a legitimate tactic that managers can do to get a chance to support their players?
08:20I never see Pep doing that when I was there and in the past.
08:26And now I don't know if the Sunday one was with a different intention, to be honest.
08:32So I cannot say more things. The only thing I can say is that the time I spent there, he never done this.
08:42Thanks, Jamie. Tabitha?
08:44I was actually at the Saturday game in the City Leeds and they were able to change from 4-2-3 to 3-5-2 at halftime
08:54and coming back from Dom to 2-0 to 2-2. For what kind of Leeds are you already with?
09:02This is a good question. I don't know.
09:05I don't know. So Farke played more than 200 games with Norwich and he played just 16 or 17 games with back 5.
09:17And he played always back 4. With Leeds he played all games with back 4 and last second half against City, back 5.
09:25They were 2-0 down, 2-2 and they could...
09:29Dange.
09:30Dange, yeah. So now, what do you think they do? I don't know.
09:34I don't know.
09:35I don't know. They play so well in 3-5-2.
09:37That's why. That's why. So we try to prepare for both and then when we see the line-up we can organize.
09:46But it's the main doubt for me in this moment if they're going to be in one way or the other way. I don't know.
09:52Second question. You're talking a lot about improving the team and how much that is important for you.
10:01I'm curious about including yourself. What are you doing to be a better manager?
10:08Try to learn as much as I can. I always take, especially the game, a way to learn because you prepare the game in one way.
10:16And then during the game you need to adjust. Half time you need to adjust. After the game you review the game plan and you see things that, okay, this works well, this not. So next time.
10:28So I always try to learn, try to evolve. But especially, I think, in general, manager is there to service players. So you need to help players, improving them as a player and as a team.
10:44So this is the main thing that I always try to focus on.
10:48Thanks, David. I will finish this section with Martin.
10:51Hi, Enzo.
10:53Away from home, you've won more games than you have at Stamford Bridge. You've scored more goals than you have at Stamford Bridge.
10:59And you've got more points than you have at Stamford Bridge. And you've played one more game at Stamford Bridge.
11:04In the away games, is that just facts and figures or is there a real reason behind it that you're doing so well away from home?
11:12It depends also a little bit on the teams that we face away at home. Now, I don't know. But for sure, I think there is no coincidence.
11:25For sure, there is something there. And probably we need to analyse. The problem is that in this moment, it's very complicated to stop and analyse the game.
11:36I would like to finish the Barcelona game. And the day after, two days after, I've been there, analysed the game, enjoyed that moment.
11:44But we were already thinking about Arsenal. Finish Arsenal, we are already thinking.
11:49But for sure, I don't think it's a coincidence. Probably there is some reason why we need to try to analyse.
11:56You've got other away games to come as well, haven't you?
12:00Time to do some analysis.
12:02Yeah, exactly. Now we have Leeds, Bournemouth, Atalanta. We have many games away. Thanks.
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