'Unlikely that Chelsea make semi-finals' - Thomas Tuchel plays down chances against Real Madrid
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 11/04/2022 at 13:46 GMT
Chelsea knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League last season on their way to victory but look unlikely to pull the same trick off again after losing the first leg at Stamford Bridge 3-1 after a hat-trick from Karim Benzema. Blues boss Thomas Tuchel admitted that it was unlikely his side would progress further in the Champions League this season, while saying they would still give their all.
'Everything is possible' - Tuchel and Kovacic on Chelsea's UCL quarter-final
Thomas Tuchel has admitted that it is 'unlikely' Chelsea will qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Blues are preparing for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Los Blancos, having lost the first 3-1 courtesy of a Karim Benzema hat-trick.
The defending champions travel to the Bernabeu needing to beat Real Madrid by two goals to stay in the tie, and Tuchel was realistic about his side's chances of progressing further.
"It's not the biggest chance, given the first game and the competition, the opponent and the stadium we play in," he said. "But we never manage our input and effort by our chances. We never have, and we will not start tomorrow by giving less.
"It is unlikely we will make it but we will try and we will play to our full limit because this is what we do. It's a big night and we will try to be in better shape and a better condition than the first match."
"It is one of the biggest challenges to perform as an away team at the Bernabeu. Even more if you need a certain result. It makes it almost impossible but it is still worth trying."
Chelsea knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League last season but were outfought and outplayed at Stamford Bridge.
And Tuchel confessed that they struggled to match the La Liga leaders with the same intensity they produced last year.
"We wanted to be more physical, we didn't work hard enough," he added.
"We faced a huge disadvantage versus Real Madrid in terms of our physicality. We need the physicality. We could not implement that enough in the last match.
"Last season we had the second leg in an empty Stamford Bridge but we were very intense. This time, we lost ball possession.
"We struggled with counter pressing and finding the intensity of runs. We need to find a way to play a more physical game."
The Blues boss also added that Romelu Lukaku will miss out through injury, along with Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
"Romelu (Lukaku) will not travel with us due to the pain in his achilles," he said.
"Callum Hudson-Odoi is still out, Ben Chilwell is still out. [Cesar] Azpi is in the group as he has tested negative [for Covid-19] several times and Ross Barkley is sick, so will not travel. Everybody else is in the squad.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/04/07/3351274-68505748-2560-1440.jpg)
Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge
Image credit: Getty Images
"We need absolutely to learn from last week's game. This is the beauty of the competition at this stage that you have two matches at short notice so you can learn from the first to the second leg."
But Tuchel was still determined his side give their all despite the uphill challenge, and called for a 'fantastic script' to get them through.
"We need nothing other than a fantastic script if we want to overcome this," said Tuchel.
"The task and challenge is incredibly high, given who we play against. We are always allowed to dream, sometimes it's important to imagine things and dream about it but it will not shift the focus that we need to deliver and be ready.
"We will support our team and try hard, its worth trying hard in sports and the future of the game everything is possible. Hopefully we can fulfil our dream."
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article