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Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel did not pull any punches post-match after 'heavy loss' against Real Madrid

Chelsea FC head coach Thomas Tuchel was more than disappointed after his team's heavy loss against Spanish giants Real Madrid. "In a quarterfinal against Real Madrid, you cannot expect a result from this kind of performance," said Tuchel. He pinpointed a lack of precision in the passes and strength in the tackle as reasons behind the team's difficult first half.

TN Sports Desk

Updated Apr 7, 2022, 05:36 IST

(Image Credit: chelseafc.com)

"It is a heavy loss," admitted the Blues head coach Thomas Tuchel. "It was one of the worst first halves that I saw from us here at Stamford Bridge. At this kind of level you cannot play like this individually or as a team."

Karim Benzema became the first ever player to score a European hat-trick against Chelsea, the Frenchman’s quick brace of first-half headers followed by a decisive third when he capitalised on a mix-up at the back to quell the home side's comeback.

Kai Havertz had reduced the deficit to 2-1 with a header but that goal ultimately proved to be a consolation as Chelsea suffered a second home loss in five days, conceding seven in that time.

Tuchel highlighted the low chance of his team going any further in the tournament. "The tie is not alive with this performance. How many clubs in worldwide football won with a three-goal difference? It’s only realistic to answer like this so we shouldn’t think I’m giving the wrong message. We need to find our competitive spirit, our quality, and then we can talk."

Tuchel pinpointed a lack of precision in the pass and strength in the tackle as reasons behind the difficult first half, while chances spurned after the break also proved costly. "Everything went wrong in the first half," he added. "It was not only about when we pass, how we pass. It was also the intensity in challenges and the desire."

"In the second half I think we had 16 shots to one shot. You can always come back and equalise but if you concede again after 48 minutes it is harder and harder. Still, we had chances in the second half to make it 3-2 and this could have been crucial but not today."

Tuchel felt his side are struggling to rediscover their pre-international break for, he said," We have to find our level back. I don’t know where it is since the international break but the first half today was a repetition of the second half against Brentford." "In a quarter-final against Real Madrid, you cannot expect a result from this kind of performance," he added.

Referring to the team schedule he said, "I was a bit shocked when I saw the amount of games we played in 2022. We were the team with Liverpool to play by far more matches than anybody else in England, and also with three extra-times on top of it."

"I worry more about Southampton than Real Madrid in the next week, that’s my focus. We have to get things ready for Saturday and not think about the Bernabéu because on Saturday we face Southampton and if we continue to play like this, we will not get a point."

"I think this is very important to process this first, it is crucial. We have to make sure everybody processes this."

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