A downcast Thomas Tuchel declared Chelsea’s position in the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid to be irretrievable after their 3-1 first-leg defeat at Stamford Bridge and described his team’s slump in form as “alarming”.
Chelsea must produce a significant turnaround at the Bernabéu next Tuesday if they are to hold hope of retaining the trophy and Tuchel poured cold water on their hopes of doing so, saying he could not explain an atrocious five days during which they also lost 4-1 at home against Brentford.
“No, not at the moment, no,” he said when asked whether the tie was still alive despite Karim Benzema’s decisive hat-trick. “Because we have to find our level back. I don’t know where it is, since the international break. Our first half is a repetition of the second half against Brentford, in a quarter-final of the Champions League against Real Madrid.
“We were so far off our level in absolutely everything the game demands; you cannot expect a result for his kind of performance.”
Tuchel reiterated his shock at two such comprehensive defeats at Stamford Bridge, which followed a run of 10 wins from 14 unbeaten games in all competitions.
“After the international break we don’t look the same and I don’t really have an explanation, as before we were on a long winning streak and were very competitive,” he said. “We didn’t change anything: it’s alarming. Two games, seven goals [conceded], but nothing has changed.”
Invited to clarify his assertion that the tie cannot be won from here, Tuchel doubled down. “If you want to put it [like] this sentence, put it [like] this sentence,” he said. “Today, with this performance, is it alive? No. If we don’t get our heads and legs straight then we will not beat Southampton [on Saturday] and then this tie is not alive. If things change, maybe, but we need three goals and how often did this happen?
“We need to find our competitive spirit and then we can talk. If we keep on playing like this we will lose in Southampton and then we don’t need to think about the Bernabéu: we will get hammered in the Bernabéu.”
Carlo Ancelotti struck a less strident note despite a commanding performance from his side, who were 2-1 up at half-time thanks to two stunning Benzema headers before the Frenchman capitalised on Edouard Mendy’s mistake 45 seconds into the second period.
“Of course we have a lead but the tie is still open,” he said. “We no longer have the away goals rule, which is an advantage for Chelsea now. I think Real Madrid played better but there is another game to go and anything can happen.”
