In defeat, Chelsea legends were made — and none more so than Thomas Tuchel.
He produced a Champions League comeback for the ages, a show of courage that will live long in the memory of the supporters who made it here to the Bernabeu and Chelsea fans watching around the world.
Even if their reign as European champions was ended by Real Madrid, this was a night that pointed to the promise of an even brighter future under their manager.
This was Chelsea at full throttle, with the shackles off — and it was thrilling. Maybe it will convince Tuchel to try it a bit more often.
For all of his remarkable success in little over a year at Stamford Bridge, it has been a case of control over the type of white-knuckle rides served up by his countryman Jurgen Klopp, or the purity of Pep Guardiola’s attacks.
They are the benchmark for Tuchel — and the distance between Manchester City and Liverpool to Chelsea is too great. Getting his team into Premier League title contention is his priority next season — and if the era of Guardiola and Klopp has taught us anything, it is that risk-and-reward football is king.
It is why Jose Mourinho was made to look like a man out of his time at Manchester United and Tottenham; Louis van Gaal, too.
While it would be unfair to describe Tuchel as a negative coach, there is an emphasis on caution in a way that is not evident in the make-up of Guardiola or Klopp.
That is why the heroic effort here was so refreshing. The relentlessness of Chelsea’s attacks made it feel more like watching Liverpool.
The visitors scored four times — three of them stood — and should have had much more to show for their dominance over the first 90 minutes.
Christian Pulisic should have scored twice right at the death, but failed to hit the target from point-blank range on both occasions.
Madrid were overwhelmed by Chelsea’s energy in midfield — no need for Tuchel’s favoured ‘double six’ to anchor his team on this occasion. The power of Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante as box-to-box midfielders almost felt like a throwback. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was full of guile to skip around his man at will to break Madrid’s press, while the link-up play of Kai Havertz and Mason Mount added a fluidity to Chelsea’s forward line rarely seen under Tuchel.
This was, arguably, Timo Werner’s finest performance for the club, capped off with a wonderful goal and laced with nuisance as he played on the shoulders of Madrid’s defenders.
To a man, Chelsea’s starting XI were magnificent, following Tuchel’s game-plan to perfection. And it was only the magic in Luka Modric’s feet that sent the tie into extra time.
So, a standard has been set. Tuchel has proved he can do it — and that he has the players to do it. The question is whether Chelsea can maintain those sorts of levels through the entirety of a campaign?
That is what sets City and Liverpool apart from just about any other team in Europe, let alone England. That is the next step for Chelsea.
It is the end of Chelsea’s reign as kings of Europe, but it feels like it could be the start of so much more
Defeat will be a bitter pill for Tuchel, especially after getting it so right on the night. But it was a moment of personal triumph for him — and it should be remembered that this was a victory in both regulation and extra time at one of the most daunting arenas in world sport.
Tuchel out-thought Carlo Ancelotti tactically, with his counterpart relying on that age-old get-out-of-jail-free card that almost feels exclusive to Madrid managers: it is the power of the game-changers, who refuse to know when they are beaten.
Modric turns 37 this year, yet can turn a match in an instant with his vision — as was the case when he curled the ball with the outside of his right boot for Rodrygo to score the goal that put Real back on level terms on aggregate. And the tie-winning goal just had to come from Karim Benzema, who at 34 scored his fourth of the tie and his 43rd of the season.
Chelsea had managed to keep him quiet for most of the night, but one moment is all it takes for the iconic France striker. As for Chelsea, it is the end of their reign as kings of Europe, but it feels like it could be the start of so much more.
