Tuchel: “It’s unlikely that we’ll come back, but we’ll try”

MADRID, 11 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel has assured that it is “unlikely” that they will be able to overcome the 1-3 first leg this Tuesday in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Real Madrid in Santiago Bernabéu, but that they will try and that they will not dose their efforts.

“It is unlikely that we will achieve it (come back), but we will try and play to the maximum because that is what we do. It will be a great night and we will try to be in better shape and in better conditions than in the first game,” he declared at the wheel. press release prior to the match. “Playing away at the Bernabéu is one of the biggest challenges, even more so if you need a certain result. It makes it almost impossible, but it’s still worth trying,” he added.

In this sense, he reiterated that they will not dose desire and effort. “It’s not the biggest opportunity, given the result of the first game, the competition, the opponent and the stadium we play in, but we never managed our entry into the match and our effort for our chances. We never have, and we won’t start tomorrow. giving less,” he stressed.

“We need to learn from last week’s game. This is the beauty of competition at this stage, where you have two games on short notice to be able to learn from the first leg to the second leg,” he continued.

In addition, the German coach appealed to the importance of the physical in the duel against the white team. “We wanted to have been more physical, we didn’t work hard enough,” he said of the first leg. “We face a big disadvantage against Real Madrid in physical terms. We need physicality. Last season we had the second leg in an empty Stamford Bridge but we were very intense. This time we lost possession of the ball,” he recalled.

Finally, Tuchel confirmed that the Belgian Romelu Lukaku will not be available due to an Achilles tendon injury, and that he will join Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell in the casualties. “Azpilicueta is in the group, since he has tested negative (for COVID-19) several times, and Ross Barkley is sick, so he will not travel. Everyone else is in the squad,” he concluded.