Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel had some regrets over the small margins that ultimately denied us a place in the semi-final, but admitted that his players put forth a valiant attempt in Madrid in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League.
The Blues made light work of the 3-1 first-leg deficit they were hoping to overcome in Spain, startling the Bernabeu by going 3-0 up with a quarter-hour to go.
Unfortunately, Real Madrid kept the tie alive through Rodrygo and then won it in extra-time, leaving Tuchel to reflect on the mixed emotions he was left with.
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Speaking in his post -match conference, Tuchel expressed his mixed feelings over the outcome of the game.
“We are very disappointed and very proud at the same time,’ said the boss.
“We played a fantastic match. We deserved what we had.
“We scored four goals, we had big chances to score more.
“We were unlucky.
“We got beaten by pure individual quality and offensive conversion.
‘We had two mistakes after ball wins, the most crucial moments in games against Real Madrid.
“We deserved to go through after this performance, but it was not meant to be.
“You need luck in games like this and it was not on our side.
“They did not create a lot at Stamford Bridge, but they took every half chance.
“You have to reduce your mistakes and we could not reduce it to an absolute minimum over the two legs.
“But there are no regrets.
“These are the kind of defeats you can take with pride and accept as a sportsman.’
“The players lived up to the plan in a very different way than we did against Brentford and in the first leg.
“We were never shy of making the point that the most important thing is how we live up to a tactic, and how lively we play in a structure.
“It was to the full limit tonight. The credit goes to the players.
“We were very disciplined on the ball, and very active off the ball.
“We showed a lot of courage, and from there we showed the quality.
“It was the right way to do it.
“I am very happy. This is the way to go forward.
“If we have this kind of effort we are a special team, and if not we can lose against anybody.
“They showed a lot of character. We can be very proud.’
The German also expressed his thought on Marcos Alonso’s goal that was disallowed by the referee.
” I did not see the goal but I told the referee I was super disappointed he did not check it on his own.
” In a match like this where you have a certain line to whistle, you should stay the boss, and not give any decisions like this to somebody in a chair who is isolated from the atmosphere and the referee’s certain style.
“He should stay in charge and check on his own, then he could explain it better. It’s just my opinion.”
Chelsea will now turn their focus to finishing top four in the Premier League and also the FA Cup.