Chelsea coach Zsolt Low is confident his side can cope without Thomas Tuchel on the sidelines for Wednesday's Club World Cup semi-final against Al Hilal.
Tuchel missed Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round win against Plymouth Argyle after testing positive for coronavirus and was also unable to fly out to Abu Dhabi.
The German will definitely miss the clash with Asian champions Al Hilal, but he could return for a potential final against either Palmeiras or Al Ahly on Saturday.
Low and Arno Michels will continue to fill in and the former insists Chelsea's preparations have not been hampered too much as Tuchel is providing regular input from London.
"We are constantly in contact with Thomas. We're using video calling all the time," Low said at a pre-match news conference on Tuesday.
"We change our ideas a lot of times in the day. We have good conversation to make it like he is here with us together.
"Petr Cech supports us well when Thomas is not here. We have a good medical staff, team management. We have a lot of support. And a lot of video calls with Thomas.
"He'll support us as best he can and give us every day preparation in meetings. In the next days there's the possibility to talk to the team."
Despite the four-hour time difference between London and the United Arab Emirates, Low says Tuchel is available at any time of the day.
"It's not necessary for him to change time zone. We have meetings with an alarm call," he said. "If we need him at 6am, we need him at 6am.
"We are training in the afternoon so Thomas is already awake then anyway. In the hotel it's a bit easier for him to chat to the team because of the connection.
"Maybe here in the dressing room can be more difficult. We all the time have phone contact also during the game so he can analyse and try to translate to the team.
"Phone calls and messages aren't Thomas' strongest part but he needs to be prepared and ready and be with us on the phone. He's been absolutely perfect in the last few days."
Tuchel is continuing to isolate, but if he returns a negative test by Thursday he will be in place for this weekend's final – assuming Chelsea first overcome Al Hilal.
"He'll follow the government rules, get tested every day and we hope the next will be negative so he can travel as fast as possible and enjoy the group and the team," Low said.
"We hope but we have texts, phone calls, video calls and give him the feeling he's with us. We need his absolute support. In 24 hours he could be here."
Al Hilal beat Al Jazira 6-1 to set up a showdown with Chelsea, who are looking to add the Club World Cup to their collection following last year's Champions League triumph.
The Blues were beaten 1-0 by Corinthians in the final in their only participation in the tournament a decade ago, but they are favourites to go all the win this time around.
"We have to take that role after winning the Champions League," Low said. "We know we're a good team and play a good game but Al Hilal are very good.
"Leonardo Jardim is a very good coach and they have a very good team. We take the role as favourites but for sure it will be a difficult game tomorrow."
The Champions League winners have made the final of the Club World Cup at 16 of the previous 17 editions, with Manchester United in 2000 the only exception.
Chelsea have lost just one of their past 15 games in all competitions, meanwhile, with their only loss in that period coming against Premier League champions Manchester City.
The English heavyweights will be without Reece James against Al Hilal, despite the defender being included in their squad, while Mason Mount will undergo a late fitness test.
Edouard Mendy is also set to link up with the squad ahead of the match, despite featuring for Senegal in Sunday's Africa Cup of Nations final win against Egypt.
Fiorentina 2-1 Milan: Gudmundsson seals win after De Gea penalty heroics
David de Gea saved two penalties for Fiorentina, setting the stage for Albert Gudmundsson to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over Milan.
In a pulsating encounter that saw three missed penalties and two red cards, Fiorentina prevailed to halt Paulo Fonseca's Serie A winning run.
The hosts had the first spot-kick of the game, with Moise Kean's tame effort being kept out by Mike Maignan before the forward had a goal disallowed for offside.
Former Milan midfielder Yacine Adli did break the deadlock soon after, ricocheting a low shot in off the far post from the edge of the box, and De Gea kept them ahead at the break, superbly denying Theo Hernandez from the spot.
Kean had a second goal chalked off for offside in the second half and Milan wasted another golden opportunity from 12 yards, as De Gea got down well to keep out Tammy Abraham this time.
On the hour mark, an in-form Christian Pulisic finally pulled the visitors level with a perfect volley, but the drama was far from over as Gudmundsson drilled his low shot past Maignan to put Fiorentina back in front in the 73rd minute.
Emotions ran high in the final moments as Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino was sent off, while Hernandez also received his marching orders for arguing with the referee after the final whistle had gone.
Data Debrief: De Gea's penalty redemption
For all the plaudits De Gea received while at Manchester United, one blip on his record was his struggles against penalties.
However, with his impressive showing against Milan, he became the first goalkeeper to make two penalty saves in a single Serie A match since Federico Marchetti in May 2016.
Since his debut in the top five European leagues (2009-10), the Spaniard has saved 10 of his 52 penalties in the league, including each of the last three, having also saved one against Fulham in May 2023.
Rangers 2-0 St. Johnstone: Cerny double provides Ibrox redemption
Rangers got back on track in the Scottish Premiership as Vaclav Cerny scored both goals in a 2-0 victory over St. Johnstone.
Philippe Clement's side were thrashed 4-1 by Lyon in Thursday's Europa League clash at Ibrox Stadium, where they made amends with a routine domestic victory on Sunday.
Cerny broke the deadlock 11 minutes before the interval, cutting inside and curling a sumptuous effort into the bottom-left corner of Ross Sinclair's goal.
Czech Republic winger Cerny added Rangers' second, and doubled his account, just before the hour after combining with returning midfielder Ianis Hagi before producing a right-footed finish into the far corner.
Hagi – who had not played a first-team game for over a year due to a contract dispute – was sent off with nine minutes left though, following a VAR review for a high challenge on Benjamin Kimpioka's standing ankle.
Rangers still recorded a comfortable triumph to move back within five points of the league-leading Celtic, who are clear of Aberdeen on goal difference, heading into the October international break.
Data Debrief: Defensive recovery after Lyon pain
Rangers were well off the pace in the Lyon hammering in which they shipped four goals, though the hosts rediscovered their defensive solidity here.
Clement's men have now won three matches in a row without conceding in the competition for the first time since doing so across January and February last campaign.
It came as no surprise, however, given St. Johnstone have lost each of their last seven away league games against Rangers without scoring a single goal in the process.
Kompany not concerned despite Bayern's defensive issues in Frankfurt
Vincent Kompany saw no reason for concern despite Bayern Munich conceding a late equaliser in Sunday's 3-3 draw away to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayern have now failed to win any of their last three matches in all competitions after last week's top-flight draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen and their midweek Champions League loss at Aston Villa.
Kim Min-Jae sent the visitors ahead early on, only for in-form Omar Marmoush to level before his strike partner Hugo Ekitike edged the home side into the lead.
Goals from Dayot Upamecano and Michael Olise turned the game around, only for Marmoush to provide a last-gasp equaliser – yet Kompany did not appear too worried at the full-time whistle.
"This was a tough game against a team that was second in the Bundesliga [before the match]," Kompany told a press conference after the points were shared in Frankfurt.
"When I look how the team worked and ran for each other it is a positive performance.
"We are all judged by results but my job is to see how we perform against some of the top teams in Germany and continue to improve. If we continue like this we will have a lot of wins."
All three Eintracht goals came from quick counter-attacks with the Bayern defence caught off guard.
"The way we approached the game I cannot say I am not proud of the team," Kompany added.
"I know you are all going to talk about the three goals that we conceded. We always have to improve things step by step. There are things that are not perfect but I have to focus on the things we did well."
The Bavarians now have 14 points and sit top of the table on goal difference ahead of RB Leipzig, who were 1-0 winners at Heidenheim earlier on Sunday.
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