Thomas Tuchel never felt Chelsea had a "huge gap" to Tottenham before seven months in which the clubs appeared to travel in opposite directions.
Chelsea won all four meetings with Spurs in all competitions last season without conceding.
Indeed, the Blues are unbeaten in seven against their London rivals in the Premier League, with Tottenham having won only one of their past 37 trips to Stamford Bridge in all competitions.
Spurs coach Antonio Conte said after a 2-0 Chelsea win in the EFL Cup semi-finals that Tuchel's men were "much stronger than us".
"This game confirmed what I thought about the difference between the teams," he added.
However, since then Tottenham have joined Chelsea in qualifying for the Champions League and enjoyed an excellent transfer window.
Having beaten Southampton 4-1 on the opening day of the season, Conte's side head into the second weekend on top of the table; in 2022, they have earned the third-most points in the division (44) behind Liverpool (52) and Manchester City (46), with Chelsea sixth in that regard (35).
Conte's January comments were put to Tuchel on Friday then, before the teams' latest meeting, and the Chelsea coach was asked to reflect on how the situation had changed.
But Tuchel argued his team had only dominated Spurs due to their commitment and performance in those matches – and he suggested Conte's analysis should be taken with a pinch of salt.
"I never felt a huge gap in preparing these matches," Tuchel said before Sunday's game at Stamford Bridge. "They are close matches, and they are a very competitive and very talented squad.
"I know very well what we invested and to what level we played to beat them four times and not concede a goal against this quality team in an emotional game in London that means for everybody so much.
"This was a huge effort and a big performance from us.
"In general, I don't believe everything Antonio Conte says in games like this, before games and after games.
"I admire him a lot and believe strongly that every team he trains competes for everything, no matter which team it is and what club it is. This is what he proves right now.
"They had maybe the opposite last seven months from us, given the situation.
"Everything was clear; they had something very clear to fight for, they put all the energy in to reach Champions League football and they reached Champions League football.
"Their targets were clear, the set-up in the club was clear, and they took advantage of this situation and had a very aggressive transfer period, a very straightforward and excellent transfer period to strengthen their squad in quality and in depth.
"That's why it's one of the toughest opponents. That's what it is always with Antonio Conte's teams."
Tuchel would not reveal his "secret" to keeping Harry Kane and Son Heung-min quiet, but he openly discussed how a heatwave in the United Kingdom might impact the match.
"It is demanding," he said. "It is more demanding – we see clearly from the data that the same training exercise in a different condition has a very different output and a very different effect on how you feel.
"It is maybe also a matter of how much you want it and how much you accept it.
"It will feel at times maybe very, very difficult and very draining. It is also a question of who has the ability, the will to play through the pain."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
RFEF elects Rocha as new president
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed Pedro Rocha as its new president.
Rocha has been elected as Luis Rubiales' replacement, despite being under investigation for corruption.
He had been serving as interim president since Rubiales resigned in September over the scandal caused when he kissed player Jenni Hermoso following Spain's Women's World Cup triumph in August.
In a statement released on Friday, the RFEF said: "Pedro Rocha has today been proclaimed the new president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), after having received the support of the majority of the assembly members of this institution that governs Spanish football.
"The process followed the procedure agreed by the Electoral Commission, which met this morning, and the timetable that was established for these elections."
Rocha has been under investigation since earlier in April, after the RFEF's headquarters was raided by police last month. The Spanish government announced on Thursday that it would be stepping in to oversee the running of the organisation.
Tuchel insists Bayern Munich coach search not affecting team's focus
Bayern Munich's search for coach Thomas Tuchel's successor is not distracting the team from their preparations for next week's Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid or their final Bundesliga matches.
That was the vow from Tuchel before Bayern first face Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday with the league title already secured by Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern will part ways with Tuchel at the end of a disappointing domestic season, a year earlier than his contract.
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick confirmed this week there had been contact with Bayern while several other coaches have been linked with the club.
Tuchel, however, said the team was shutting out any such distractions as they chase a spot in the Champions League final.
"In the next 11 days it can only be football and the goals we can still reach," Tuchel told a press conference.
"We want to collect points [in the Bundesliga] to get the best result and reach the Champions League final.
"For anything else, there is just no capacity at the moment, whether it is comfortable or uncomfortable despite the many issues."
With no chance of domestic silverware and Bayern battling to hold on to second place, three points ahead of third-placed Stuttgart whom they face in 10 days, Tuchel said it was clear Tuesday's game against Real Madrid was on everyone's mind already.
"I can accept and it is important that we all accept it that there is this background noise against Frankfurt," Tuchel said.
"We don't have to tell ourselves a fairytale that we are only thinking 100% about Eintracht.
"There is this background noise that the Real Madrid game plays a role. When I get my coffee in the morning people don't say 'good luck for tomorrow' they say 'good luck for Tuesday' to me."
Bayern still have some injury concerns for the coming games with Dayot Upamecano doubtful after twisting an ankle in training and Leroy Sane racing to get fit in time for Tuesday.
Tuchel said: "We have a test [against Frankfurt] and either we are distracted or we find solutions. Put on ear plugs or headphones and study for the test. That is my task."
The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss was also asked about over 12,000 Bayern supporters signing a petition asking for him to remain at the club.
"Even though this topic is good for me when they [the fans] wish you to stay, it's not something that is a priority and it isn't allowed to be a priority," he said.
"Whether it's pleasant or unpleasant, I don't allow myself to be influenced by it. We're only focusing on every day counting towards our goals and there is no exception here.
"This question is like the neighbour that is noisy at three in the morning, if we're honest! I'll set my headphones to noise-cancelling mode and ignore that.
"This topic won't help me on Saturday and won't help me on Tuesday - and it is not my topic."
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