Tuchel: “It’s unlikely we’ll make it, but it’s worth trying”

Thomas Tüchel was realistic about Chelsea’s chances of turning their Champions League quarter final tie against Real Madrid around but insisted that his players will give it their best shot at the Bernabéu on Tuesday night. His side go into the game trailing 1-3 from the first leg in London.

Chances of turning the tie around: “Not the biggest chance. Given the first game’s result, given the competition and the opponent stadium we’ll be playing in. But we never manage our input and our effort, and our belief by the chances we have for a result - we never did and we will not start tomorrow. It’s very unlikely that we will make it, but it’s worth trying and we will try. Trying means we will play to our fullest, to our limit. This is what we do, regardless of what chances we might have. This is what it is, it’s a big night and a big match and we will try to be in better shape than we were in the first match”.

What lessons did you learn from the first leg? “We absolutely need to learn from last week’s game. That’s the beauty of this competition and this stage - that you have two matches in quick succession and so you can learn from games and you can use pictures, moments and situations from the first leg to learn for the second leg. That’s what we try to do, and what we will use in the preparation for this match”.

Players who are unavailable: “Hudson-Odoi is still out, Chilwell as well, Lukaku will not travel with us due to Achilles pain. Azpilicueta is in the group, he tested negative several times.  And Ross Barkley is sick and will not travel. Everybody else is in the squad”.

Differences to last year’s tie: “It couldn’t be more different. Of course, last year, the game was played at the training ground. This time we will be at the new stadium. It is one of the biggest challenges to perform as the away team at the Bernabéu, and it is even more difficult if you have to earn a certain result - if you need to win by a minimum of two goals, or even a three-goal difference. That makes it almost impossible and very, very difficult but it’s still worth trying. We need to over-perform. It’s not easy but at the same time, it’s a great experience to learn from and maybe, an experience to take and over-perform”.

Real Madrid have a number of older players who will struggle playing for long periods at high intensity. Could that hold the key to turning the tie around? “We wanted it like that, we wanted it to be more physical – we did not work hard enough or intense enough in the first leg. We face a huge disadvantage in terms of physicality because Real Madrid have gone a whole year with five changes and we play in the most demanding league and played the most matches throughout the season and in 2022. So it’s not always easy to play a physical game. We are a team that needs the physicality, sharpness and commitment to be a special team. But we could not implement that enough in the last match. It was also due to their quality and their capacity to slow the game down, to control the match with possession. Last season, we had the second leg at an empty Stamford Bridge but we were very, very intense but we also lost possession of the ball. We struggled last week to implement that, we struggled with out counter-pressing and finding intensity. Can we do it now? Let’s see - the game is totally different and we will need to find a way to play a more physical game, that will be part of the solution”.

Do you dream about an epic comeback? “We will need nothing else than a fantastic script if we are to overcome this.The task is incredibly high considering the circumstances. We are always allowed to dream. Sometimes it’s 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. We will support our team and we will try. The beauty of the game is that anything is possible, always”.