Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel commented on his team's chances of continuing in the Champions League after losing to Real Madrid in the first leg on Wednesday. Tuchel stated that his title-holding team faces the risk of exiting the Champions League against Real Madrid unless they can regain their focus following a 3-1 home defeat in the quarter-finals. Regarding the humiliating 4-1 loss to Brentford in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Tuchel expressed his confusion in explaining the sudden decline of his team.
The German coach told reporters, "We must return to our level, and I don't know what happened. The first half against Real Madrid was a repeat of the second half against Brentford." He added, "We were far from our level in all aspects. You cannot expect a positive result after this type of performance," as quoted by Reuters.
Tuchel indicated that his team would lose to Southampton in the league on Saturday if they played as they did in the first half against Real Madrid. He highlighted that conceding seven goals in two matches is concerning, which is a far cry from the defensive solidity Chelsea enjoyed since Tuchel took charge in January of last year.
Tuchel acknowledged that Romelu Lukaku, who has the highest transfer deal in Chelsea's history and came on as a substitute in the second half, missed a "very important" chance to reduce the gap with a header when the score was 3-1, but emphasized that the issues do not concern just one or two players. He continued, "If we don't improve our mentality, we won't win against Southampton, and this encounter (against Real Madrid) will not be in our favor unless things change."
