Tuchel says Chelsea will face City in final with confidence

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said their Champions League final opponents Manchester City were the benchmark in Europe, but his team would head to the title clash in Istanbul equipped with the confidence that they could beat Pep Guardiola’s side.

Goals by Timo Werner and Mason Mount sent Chelsea into the title clash with City as they outclassed 13-time champions Real Madrid 2-0 in the semifinal second leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday for a 3-1 aggregate triumph.

Chelsea knocked City out of the FA Cup semifinal with a 1-0 win earlier in the season but Tuchel said that performance did not necessarily give his team the upper hand heading into the Champions League final.

“But it gives us a good feeling, the confidence that we played that semifinal on the edge; we used it ... for me Bayern Munich with Manchester City are the benchmarks and we wanted to close the gap to City,” Tuchel said.

“We gave an impressive performance in this one match in the semifinal and we need that again. It gave us belief and confidence for every game after that, because it’s the highest level you can face.”

Former Paris St Germain boss Tuchel took over from the sacked Frank Lampard in January and has guided Chelsea from ninth to fourth place in the league.

“We had huge challenges in the Premier League and we came out of it very strong and showed our mentality and quality in all of these matches,” Tuchel said.

“So yes, we’ll arrive with self-confidence ... in Istanbul. With no injuries, just the positive energy to win.”

Tuchel said all the sacrifices he had made since January, including being away from his family, were worth it.

“I was part of an amazing club from the first day, and I felt huge support from day one. I’m very grateful to be on the sideline with this team,” he said.

“This was an energetic performance ... The job isn’t done yet.

“We’re in two finals and the sacrifice that I personally made, has been worth it since day one.”

Under Tuchel, big-money signings Kai Havertz and Werner have begun to flourish, young English midfielder Mason Mount has taken his game to another level and N’Golo Kante has rediscovered his best form.

It was Chelsea’s 18th clean sheet under Tuchel.

That statistic could hint at a defensive, cautious approach. But the opposite is true. Tuchel’s side produced a dazzling display of fluent attacking football against Real and but for a flurry of missed chances that had the German raging on the touchline, it could have been a rout.

Real’s Zidane was looking to secure his fourth Champions League semifinal progression, a feat managed only by Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti and Marcello Lippi.

But he was out-thought and his team outplayed as Tuchel reached the final for the second successive season having taken PSG to the showpiece last year only to lose to Bayern Munich.