LONDON -- Thomas Tuchel promised in his programme notes that his Chelsea side had not mentioned Real Madrid once after their plane left the Spanish runway last week. While Fulham were perhaps quietly hoping Chelsea would have more than half an eye on Wednesday's Champions League semifinal, second leg, Tuchel had been adamant over the past 48 hours that Chelsea had parked Madrid and were focused on the task in hand.
It would have been easy to roll your eyes at this: managers will always promise focus amid possible distraction, but this is where his pragmatism has paid dividends.