Thomas Tuchel claims Chelsea’s Champions League hopes are already over after their 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge.
In what Tuchel described after the match as Chelsea’s ‘worst half ever’, they found themselves two goals down after just 24 minutes following two superb headers by Karim Benzema.
Kai Havertz pulled a goal back for the Blues before the break but shortly after the restart, Benzema capitalised on mistakes from Edouard Mendy and Antonio Rudiger to complete his hat-trick.
Chelsea must now secure a win in the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next Tuesday in order to reach the Champions League semi-final.
But when asked after his team’s defeat if Chelsea’s tie with Real Madrid is still alive, Tuchel replied: ‘No. Not at the moment, no.
‘Why is it not alive? Because we have to find our level and I don’t know where it is. ‘Since the international break the first half is a repetition of the second half against Brentford, in a quarter-final against Real Madrid.
‘So far off our level in absolutely everything what the game demands. You cannot expect a result from this kind of performance.
‘We have to get things ready for Saturday and don’t think about the Bernabeu today because on Saturday we face Southampton and if we continue to play like this we will not get a point.’
Asked if he is sending the right message to his players by saying the tie is over, Tuchel said: ‘If you want to put it on this sentence put it on this sentence, honestly. I worry more about Southampton than about Real Madrid in the next week, there is my focus.
‘Today, is this alive? No. With this performance, no. ‘First of all, we need to play Southampton and if we don’t get our heads and legs straight and our mentality right we will not win in Southampton and then this tie is not alive.
‘If things change, maybe, but how many clubs in worldwide football won [by] what we need – three goals difference? How often did this happen?
‘Maybe it’s only realistic to answer like this and should not get fatalistic and think that I give the wrong message. Let’s be honest, we sit here after 15 minutes, we are competitive, we need to find our competitive spirit, our quality and then we can talk.’
