Tuchel refutes claims that focus was on Madrid game after home defeat
Thomas Tuchel insisted his team choice was not affected by the Champions League's imminent return after Chelsea's 4-1 loss to Brentford.
Thomas Tuchel denied Chelsea's upcoming Champions League clash with Real Madrid provided a distraction after watching his team fall to a 4-1 loss to Brentford on Saturday.
The Blues opened the scoring three minutes after half-time through Antonio Rudiger, but a stunning Brentford comeback condemned them to their first Premier League defeat since January 15, as Christian Eriksen and Yoane Wissa added to Vitaly Janelt's brace.
Chelsea's remarkable collapse saw them concede four or more goals at home to a newly promoted side for just the second time in Premier League history, with the previous occasion also coming under Tuchel's management in a 5-2 loss to West Bromwich Albion in April 2021.
With the European champions due to host Madrid in a huge quarter-final contest on Wednesday, Tuchel made four changes to his side, but was adamant that nobody at Stamford Bridge had looked any further ahead than their clash with the Bees.
"We selected the team because we thought it was the best team against Brentford," Tuchel insisted. "Not with half an eye, or one percent of one, on Real Madrid.
"It's more difficult for us than them to play as the underdog and be well prepared for this match. We are well prepared, but had one half of a training session [after the return of Chelsea's internationals].
"It is more difficult, but in the context of all this I am okay with the first half. The half-time speech was like this, a reminder to keep on going.
"We started very well [in the second half]. I did not see the distraction there, so why should we be distracted and think about Real Madrid when we are one goal ahead?
"Maybe it was the general feeling that now we are ahead and have it [which led to the turnaround], and we got punished for that."
Brentford's stunning triumph represents the joint-biggest away Premier League victory managed by a newly promoted team against a side starting the day in the top three of the table, alongside Leeds United's 3-0 win at Aston Villa in October 2020.