Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel admits it’s almost impossible to overturn Real Madrid’s 1-3 quarter-final first-leg deficit at the Bernabeu, but insists defending champs will give it their all
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel (in black) with his players after their 1-3 loss to Real Madrid in the UCL quarter-final first leg in London recently
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said that his team will need a “fantastic script” to overturn the two-goal deficit (1-3) against Real Madrid in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Reigning European champions Chelsea have been destabilised by the enforced sale of the club after the British government sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich for his close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.
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Fortress Bernabeu
“It is one of the biggest challenges to perform away at the Bernabeu. It is even more difficult if you have to earn a certain result, if you need to win with a minimum of two goals or better or maybe a three-goal difference, that makes it almost impossible and very, very difficult but still it is worth trying. We need nothing else than a fantastic script if we want to overcome this,” said Tuchel.
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema (left) and Vinicius Junior during a training session in Madrid yesterday. Pics/Getty Images
“The task is incredibly high and the challenge is incredibly high given the circumstances of the first leg and where we play and against whom we play and at what stage we play this kind of match. You’re always allowed to dream and it is sometimes important to imagine things and to dream about it, but it will not shift the focus from the fact that we need to deliver and we need to be ready tomorrow,” added Tuchel.
Meanwhile, Real manager Carlo Ancelotti insisted that his team will not underestimate Chelsea. “Chelsea are here to bring the fight to us. It will be tough for them of course, but they will try. Good teams never give up,” Ancelotti said at a press conference.
Real’s Ancelotti cautious
Chelsea delivered the perfect response last weekend by thrashing Southampton 6-0 in the Premier League and might take encouragement from Barcelona thrashing Madrid 4-0 only three weeks ago.
Carlo Ancelotti
“I know my players very well. They are well aware of what happened a few weeks ago [against Barca] and what is required tomorrow. We won’t be under-estimating anyone. This is a great opportunity to reach the semis, but Chelsea are a very good team. We have to respect them. It’s the only way we can prepare for this game, thinking that Chelsea will be better tomorrow and be ready. There is no other way. We are ready. We know we will have to suffer and we are ready to suffer,” Ancelotti added.
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