Thomas Tuchel admits Juventus ARE weaker without Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Champions League tie

Thomas Tuchel has acknowledged that Juventus in some regard must be seen as a weaker side this season, after losing talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.

Tuchel’s Chelsea face Juve in the group stages of the Champions League, and the German insists that it is now rather obvious that the Serie A giants have lost a big player and a big personality.

Speaking to reporters during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Tuchel outlined when asked his opinion that Juve will clearly miss Ronaldo, but have the talent within their ranks to go far in the competition.

Thomas Tuchel has talked up Juventus’ chances ahead of them facing his Chelsea side

Tuchel feels Juventus must be seen as weaker in some capacity after Cristiano Ronaldo left

‘Time will tell, but I think it’s not a secret that any team in the world without Cristiano is weaker because he is one of the greatest to ever play this match, they lost a big champion and a big personality,’ said Tuchel.

‘But you can win games and be a strong teams without Cristiano Ronaldo. they have a lot of experience and a lot of talent, with a good coach. 

‘They are so experienced and it’s a big club with Champions League experience. they had some troubles and a bit of a rough start [to the season] but always very convincing in the Champions League’.

The Chelsea boss is also willing to accept that his side are the team to beat this season given that they are current holders of the trophy, but insists there remains something of an underdog status about his side.

Tuchel believes it is easy to make his side favourites after winning the trophy last season

‘It is easy to make us the favourites, it is a higher motivation to play against us and we have to accept this because we have won this competition,’ Tuchel added.

‘It’s no secret we like this role as an outsider or a challenger for this title, because I think we are.’

The club record £98million summer arrival of Romelu Lukaku has served to make Chelsea and even stronger outfit, though questions have been raised about changes to the system.

Following the Blues lacklustre defeat by Manchester City on Saturday, Tuchel has acknowledged that allowances have been made to accommodate the record signing, but Chelsea can still play the same brand of football. 

Tuchel spoke openly about his side needing to ‘adapt’ to cater to Romelu Lukaku’s game

Tuchel said: ‘It’s a normal thing because you have to adapt to the players you have, to their strengths and weaknesses. 

‘We were too passive in the game against City, the defensive plan and my responsibility maybe led to this behaviour. 

‘We’re all in this and we showed we can play high pressing and have high ball recoveries with Romelu.’