"We’re a strong group with a strong bond…this makes us hard to beat" | Thomas Tuchel press conference

[MUSIC PLAYING]

(thomas tuchel) Thiago
cannot play on Sunday.

He did a individual
session today,

but a session on
the pitch, and felt

was a big progress, big step
ahead, or up front for him.

So I hope he will join
the group next week.

We know what we are up against.

a team that can hurt you any
second with individual quality.

A team that can hurt you
any second with speed.

They are a strong
team from away, they

can defend very compact,
they are very, very good

in transition.

With their wingers, with
Rashford, with Bruno Fernandes

Shoretire deliveries, and
then Greenwood, Edi Cavani,

Martial, whoever plays it
will be a big challenge

to defend all this, to
defend counter-attacks.

The implication is
huge, of course.

If we get a win out of
this game it's huge for us,

if they get a win it
will be huge for them.

In general, I would say like
the big games are always

the next games because there are
no bigger games than the games

that you play in general.

And then there are
some special fixtures.

It's obvious there
was a London derby,

there was a Champions
League game in Madrid, now

is Man United, Liverpool,
and Everton in the league.

It's a series of big fixtures
and, of course, big teams,

and big challenges to overcome.

But this is exactly
why we are here

and we're looking forward to
prepare the team from tomorrow

on, and to be ready on Sunday.

I think it's not a pleasure
to play against us,

but the picture is not finished.

We have still a long
way to go, and we

have a lot of things to improve,
and this is the good message,

and this is the good news.

There's no other way
than to stay hungry,

and then to be ready
to improve every day,

and we need to do this.

There's a lot of
things to improve.

But I can clearly feel the
attitude and the energy

of my team on the pitch.

That we are a strong
group with a strong bond,

and we have strong
competitors in our group.

And that makes us hard to beat.

I believe strongly that
football is a team effort,

and this is the mentality
that I feel on the sideline

when I coach the team, and
when I observe the matches.

And this is the best
feeling that we can have.

And yeah, we are on a good
way, but it's not finished.

He's fit as ever.

He can rely on his physical
impact in the game.

It's hard to play against him.

And he's used to
play a high rhythm,

he's used to play
in Premier League,

and this helps him a lot, I
think, to be on this level ,

and he's very self-aware.

He's in a fantastic
mood every day,

to push everybody
around him, to play,

to win every little games we do
in training, to be very, very

positive with
everybody around him.

So that did never
change, even when

he did not start
every game for us,

or he did not even come from
the bench in some matches.

His mood and his
attitude never changed,

and this is what
in the end makes

the difference between also good
players and big personalities.

And Oli is for sure
a big personality.

[MUSIC PLAYING]