The Blues begin a run of four Premier League matches in 12 days and a period that will go a long way in determining our final position in the table with tonight’s hosting of London rivals Arsenal. After that, we have another derby at Stamford Bridge against West Ham before a pair of trips to the north-west at Manchester United and Everton.

With 12 points on offer in as many days, we will head into May with a fair idea of how our league campaign will end up looking ahead of the final four games of 2021/22, as well as the FA Cup final. It is a triumph in that Wembley clash with Liverpool, as well as a third-place league finish, that many believe will make it a positive season for Tuchel and his players in SW6.

However, the Blues boss will make his own assessment on our campaign performance only when the curtain comes down, with the onus now on continuing to compete as we have done in recent victories against Real Madrid and Southampton.

‘We need to wait and ask the same question after we know where we are,’ said the German about those reflections. ‘We need to wait and see how we arrive in the FA Cup final - are we there with a full squad? Is everybody available? Then we will put high demands on ourselves.

‘We enter a crucial moment of the season now in the next two weeks and four games. We can have a huge influence on the table and to our goals. We want to do the best possible and fight for every point out there.

‘That means we have to fight a very physical, committed game, and then we are a strong group. This is what we try to stay in the process of and not to lose ourselves already with what is successful or not.’

This evening’s derby will be our 55th match of a season that has been unprecedented in its relentless nature, with the Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup adding to our runs to the last in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

At the start of the campaign, it was possible for us to be involved in a staggering 65 games this term and by the time we draw to a close in late May, our final tally will be just three short of that due only to our exit from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

By contrast, Arsenal have been without any European football at all this term and have played 16 games fewer, which equates to 1,440 minutes or 24 full hours of competitive football less.

‘They have a huge advantage but it always depends what you make of your situation,’ reflected Tuchel.

‘You can use it as an excuse to feel very tired, and we feel the challenge right now both mentally and physically. It can be an excuse if things go wrong or we can just accept the challenge and go from there, which is what we try to do.’

Tuchel admitted he was a little concerned a few months back when the workload of our rivals dipped following exits from domestic and European competitions, while Chelsea continued with a globetrotting campaign fought on multiple fronts.

Yet he also conceded that there are two sides of the argument, with the momentum gained from regular matches and pushing a group of players to their limits also significant.

‘I was not happy when Tottenham went out of the UEFA Conference League because I know what Antonio Conte can do with teams when they are focused and he can train them physically,’ added Tuchel.

‘I thought this would be a huge uplift for them in the domestic competition, and the same for Arsenal when they went out of the cup. I felt this would be a huge boost for them because they have a very young and talented team, so to train them and to be focused on one competition can be an advantage.

‘But it can be also a disadvantage like Manchester United, if you under-perform when you’re out of cups and European competitions too early for what you demand of yourself. It can limit your spirit and have an effect on the atmosphere.

‘It’s very different if you build a squad for playing 60 or 65 games and suddenly you have only 40. You have whole weeks to prepare for games so it can also be heavy on your shoulders, even more heavy than your heavy legs by playing all the time.’