A miserable weekend for Tuchel and his team was compounded on Sunday when Liverpool scored a dramatic late winner in their game at West Brom off the unlikely head of goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

The Brazilian’s goal earned the Reds a crucial three points as they moved to within one point of fourth-placed Chelsea with two games to play in the battle to finish in the Champions League places.

Next up for Chelsea is the visit of third-placed Leicester to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night – just three days after the Foxes stunned the London club 1-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley.   

Leicester are two points clear of the Blues in the league standings, meaning Tuesday’s result will likely go a long way to determining which of the pair secures a top-four finish, while Liverpool stand to benefit either way.

Saturday’s Cup final woe followed a disappointing week in which Chelsea also slumped to a 1-0 home defeat against London rivals Arsenal, looking limp in both games.

Speaking on Monday, Tuchel admitted to being pleasantly surprised to see Liverpool initially struggling at West Brom before they made the breakthrough deep into injury time.

“I came home in the afternoon, switched on the TV and saw 1-1,” Tuchel said, according to the local London press.

“I thought, ‘Oh, that wouldn't be a bad result’

"I was a bit superstitious and I did not follow it. I checked on my phone in the 95th minute and it was still 1-1.

“I checked one minute later and I realized that superstitions don't always work, or maybe I made the wrong decision if they do work!

“It doesn't make things boring. It was a fantastic header – I saw it today and it makes things pretty interesting and tight. But still, it is in our hands.”

Two defeats in a week have arrested some of the remarkable momentum Tuchel and Chelsea had built up since he replaced the sacked Frank Lampard at the end of January, when the team were languishing down in ninth in the table.

There is also the prospect of a Champions League final against Manchester City in Portugal at the end of the month.  

However, if the club owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich don’t find themselves back among the European elite next season, Tuchel says they will only have themselves to blame.

“Someone asked me after the [Cup] final if it was a major setback ahead of Tuesday. No, it was the Arsenal game,” said the 47-year-old German.

“It was our fault that it is so close again. We left the door open and Liverpool put their foot into the door. This is what they do. They are a strong team and anyway, we had a huge effort to overcome them before…

“I was more worried and angry about our performance in the Arsenal game [than in the Cup final], where I had the feeling that we were not sharp enough and not on point.

“We did not put the bar up to our level to bring us a victory home. Still, it was not the case in the final.”

Tuesday’s game at Stamford Bridge will see the return of 8,000 home fans as part of the easing of Covid restrictions, after 21,000 supporters were allowed into Wembley to see the FA Cup final at the weekend. 

Tuchel said that support could be "crucial" to Chelsea's chances in their push to the finish line.