Tuchel: It is unlikely that we will turn it around against Real Madrid. Is he throwing in the towel or confusing his opponent?

Chelsea lost 1:3 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final and will have a very difficult time in the away leg. But don’t expect any encouragement from coach Thomas Tuchel, on the contrary, he considers the double-header to be closed. Is he throwing in the towel or trying to confuse his opponent?

The way the White Ballet danced at Stamford Bridge especially in the first half, Tuchel bit hard. Two Benzema goals, a Vinícius cross, Benzema’s point-blank shot from a small area and a few other indications. Chelsea could have easily gone to the booths with a 0:5 drubbing.

“It was the worst first half I’ve seen from us at Stamford Bridge,” Tuchel raged after the game. Although the Blues managed to reduce the deficit thanks to Havertz’s goal, Benzema took advantage of Mendy’s mistake after the change of sides to send Real into a 3-1 lead.

” No. Not at the moment. If we play like this, it’s not even worth going to the Bernabéu.”

And he continues in the same fearless mood. “It’s unlikely we’ll turn it around, but it’s worth a try. We’ll try to be in better shape than we were in the first game,” Tuchel said at the pre-match press conference.

“Playing at the Santiago Bernabéu is one of the biggest challenges in football. And to go there with the fact that you have to score two, or rather three goals, makes the challenge almost impossible,” the German coach added.

What is Tuchel actually trying to do? Does he really no longer see a chance to advance against Real Madrid and is he publicly throwing in the towel? Not really, no coach, especially a tactician like that, would dare to do that.

Rather, he’s trying to get into the heads of the Merengues players. He is trying to make them feel that Chelsea are no longer counting on advancing, so that Real will underestimate them and the London side will then surprise them.

Even these “mind games” can help Chelsea to reach the semi-finals. Tuchel must try everything possible as a strong Real have all the cards in their hands.

Source: UEFA