In the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, the Blues suffered a heavy 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge, thanks to Karim Benzema’s brilliant hat-trick.
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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was at loss for words to explain his side’s below-par performance, especially in the first half, against Real Madrid on Wednesday night. In the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, the Blues suffered a heavy 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge. Karim Benzema’s brilliant hat-trick means that Chelsea now have a mountain to climb. Kai Havertz had reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the first half but a massive mix-up between goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Antonio Rudiger allowed Real Madrid to increase their two-goal cushion at the start of the second half.
“It is a heavy loss,” admitted Tuchel after the match, as per his club’s website. “It was one of the worst first halves that I saw from us here at Stamford Bridge. At this kind of level you cannot play like this individually or as a team. From all of us, we were by far not good enough, we were not doing what we are used to doing. The first half was so far from any standards that we set ourselves.”
“Everything went wrong in the first half. It was not only about when we pass, how we pass. It was also the intensity in challenges and the desire. In the second half I think we had 16 shots to one shot. You can always come back and equalise but if you concede again after 48 minutes it is harder and harder. Still, we had chances in the second half to make it 3-2 and this could have been crucial but not today.”
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Speaking about the possibility of making an incredible turnaround in the second leg, Tuchel gave an honest assessment. The manager believes that with this performance, the tie is not “alive”. However, he wants to focus more on Southampton in the Premier League this weekend rather than worry about Real Madrid.
“The tie is not alive with this performance. How many clubs in worldwide football won with a three-goal difference? It’s only realistic to answer like this so we shouldn’t think I’m giving the wrong message. We need to find our competitive spirit, our quality, and then we can talk,” he explained.
“I worry more about Southampton than Real Madrid in the next week, that’s my focus. We have to get things ready for Saturday and not think about the Bernabeu because on Saturday we face Southampton and if we continue to play like this, we will not get a point. I think this is very important to process this first, it is crucial. We have to make sure everybody processes this.”
Tuchel is also keen to rediscover the form Chelsea displayed before the international break. “We have to find our level back. I don’t know where it is since the international break but the first half today was a repetition of the second half against Brentford. In a quarter-final against Real Madrid, you cannot expect a result from this kind of performance,” he added.
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