Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has given early predictions ahead of next season, tipping Manchester United to challenge for the Premier League title.
Manchester City won the 2021/22 Premier League crown on Saturday, the last day of the season, to defend their 2020/21 title win. Liverpool came the closets, finishing in second place with 92 points, one less than City who won with 93 points.
Chelsea came in third with 74 points, 18 points adrift of second-placed Liverpool. It was a topsy-turvy season for the Blues, who had their ownership changed due to the most unpleasant of circumstances.
They also lost two finals to Liverpool in the process and unsuccessfully defended their UEFA Champions League title, crashing out at the quarter finals.
The club are now under new ownership and if all goes to plan, will be strong enough to challenge in the transfer window as they usually do. They will also become strengthened and stable enough to challenge for the 2022/23 title, after being touted as the odds-on winners of the 2021/22 title.
Tuchel believes that his club will give Man City and Liverpool a tougher test than they did this season, but also noted that Manchester United will be a force to contend with after their appointment of Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils brought in the Dutch manager, who resumed duty after leading Ajax Amsterdam to their third straight Eredivisie title (2020 was voided due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
Tuchel believes that ten Hag’s winning mentality will help reshape United into a force to be reckoned with for his team as they pursue the runaway leaders Man City and Liverpool.
“It will be a super tough race,” he said. “Manchester United will be in the race and Tottenham will be in the race with Antonio Conte, for sure.
“We want to stay in the race and Liverpool and Man City do everything to make their squads bigger and they set the standard so high. This is the challenge in which we compete.”
Man United finished in sixth place with 58 points, their lowest tally ever and their lowest position ever. A ton of on and off the pitch issues plagued the club which they could not deal with, leading to poor performances from the team.
Next season begins in August and Tuchel is gearing to face the best of the best. With a new owner, the move could turn out to be just what Chelsea needs for their sixth Premier League title.
