Tuchel says Chelsea must learn lesson from first leg as German tips Real Madrid as favorites in Champions League
Ahead of the second leg of Chelsea Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid, Thomas Tuchel believes the World champions need to implement the lessons we learned from the first-leg defeat to make sure we perform better this time around.
Chelsea make the trip to Spain with a difficult task ahead if they are to continue their defence of the Champions League trophy won last season, needing to overcome a two-goal deficit following their 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge.
However, one of the characteristics of these two-legged European ties, especially with just a one-week turnaround between games like this one, is that it allows teams to take what they learned in the first match and use it in the return leg – something Blues head coach believes could be important for Chelsea chances.
‘We need absolutely to learn from last week’s game,’ said Tuchel. ‘This is the beauty of the competition on this stage, that you have two matches at very short notice, so you can learn from games and you can use pictures and moments and situations from the first leg to learn for the second leg. This is what we try to do and this is what we will use in the preparation for this match.’
One lesson he will take to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu from the first leg is the need to impose their own game on Real Madrid more, feeling they lacked Chelsea’s usual intensity and tempo in the game at Stamford Bridge.
He knows that is easier said than done, though, as Chelsea’s difficulties in doing so last week underlined how hard it is against a side like Real Madrid, who are so adept at controlling games, not to mention the impact on energy levels of Chelsea’s heavy fixture schedule in the high-intensity Premier League.
‘First of all it was like this, we wanted it more physical. We did not work hard enough, we were not intense enough in the first match.
‘Second of all we face a huge disadvantage in terms of physicality, because Real Madrid has a whole year with five changes, we play in the most demanding league and we play the most matches throughout the season and throughout 2022. So it’s not always easy to play a physical game.
‘We are a team that needs the physicality, the sharpness and the commitment and the investment to be a special team. We could not implement that enough in the last match. This was also due to their quality and their capacity to slow the game down, to control the match by ball possession. This is what it is.’
It is not just last week’s game Tuchel is taking lessons from either, as he believes the way Chelsea beat Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League semi-finals, despite having less possession than their opponents, is an example they can follow again.
‘We had for example last season the second leg, in an empty Stamford Bridge of course, but we were very intense, it was a very intense match, but we lost ball possession also clearly. So ball possession alone for the opponent is not the statistic that logically says that you don’t have an intense game.
‘We struggled last week to implement that, we struggled with our counter-pressing and finding work and finding intensity in runs. Can we do it now? Let’s see. The game is totally different but we will need to find a way to play a more physical game and of course this is a part of the solution.’
At the end of the day, though, the German knows there is only one thing Chelsea can do in Madrid, and that is to give absolutely everything they have and hope it is enough to turn things around after 90 minutes at the Bernabeu, as he confirmed when he explained how his side will approach tomorrow night’s game.
‘By not accepting it and by leaving everything on the pitch that we have and by showing that we can work harder, that we can play better, that we know that we can take more risks and that we show our true face and live up to our full potential. That’s what we should do first and then we accept what comes after.’
