Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Not a leg to stand on
TUCHEL TELLS BLUES: FORGET THE FIRST MATCH & GO FOR THE THROAT AGAINST THE 13-TIME CHAMPS
THOMAS TUCHEL has ordered his players to forget the first leg – and go all out for victory at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel made it clear his players should have no fear facing Real Madrid, the most successful side in European football history.
The German’s Chelsea team were hugely impressive in Madrid as they made the 13-time winners look an ageing, ordinary outfit.
And a precious away goal now means the Blues are just 90 minutes away from reaching the Champions League final.
But Tuchel gave a stirring pre-match rallying cry to his players, telling them last week is already forgotten and urging them to go out and win the return leg rather than try to protect their advantage.
He said: “We will clearly prepare to win the match. We have no other way to prepare for matches than to encourage my team to go out and try to win it, to be our best.
“If we are at our best, then it’s a no-brainer that we go for the win. This club is about winning.
“This game is about winning, this competition is about winning. We are in the semi-final, second leg, so forget the first-leg result, it’s not as important as everyone thinks.
“It’s got zero importance in preparation for this match. It will change absolutely nothing for how we start the game, how we prepare and what we do in training “It has zero influence in the talk we give to our players.
“We will encourage them, we will demand from them to be as strong as possible from the start.
“The group has one goal – to overcome Real Madrid, and it will only happen if we bring our best level to the pitch and that means we fight to win.
“It’s the second leg, the decisive one, so to arrive with a certain level of belief and self-confidence is absolutely necessary.
“Otherwise, we have no chance against a team like Real Madrid. And it does not help so much if your coach is talking about it, we need to really feel it.”
Tuchel’s impact on Chelsea has been nothing short of remarkable after taking over a team in January that was beginning to worry about even making the Premier League top four.
Now they are in the FA Cup final and are 90 minutes from the
Champions League final. The former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saintgermain boss has made the Blues hard to beat and instilled a new confidence and belief.
He has also got the best out of N’golo Kante, who had struggled with injuries under Frank Lampard.
France star Kante (with UEFA’S player of the match trophy after last week’s first leg, left) was outstanding in Madrid and has already won two Premier League titles and the Europa League.
But a Champions League title has so far evaded one of Europe’s best midfield players of his generation.
Tuchel added: “He is the guy who needs to win trophies and that’s why we are so, so happy that he’s here. I’ve been fighting for this player, dreaming about this player at any club I was coaching.
“So now he’s my player and, as you mentioned, he’s won every trophy except the Champions League. Hopefully he will do everything that he can to help us get this trophy.
“I’m super happy, so happy that players like him exist. He has the mentality of a real helper, who will always give everything to help anybody on the pitch out there. He’s such a nice, humble, quiet guy, too. It’s a fantastic combination.”