Chelsea must improve or face elimination, Tuchel says

LONDON: Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel mentioned the reigning European champions had been dealing with an exit by the hands of Real Madrid until they’ll regain their focus after a 3-1 house Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat.

Hard on the heels of a 4-1 thrashing by Premier League new boys Brentford on Saturday (Apr 2), additionally at Stamford Bridge, Tuchel mentioned he was at a loss to clarify his crew’s sudden hunch.

“We have to find our level back and I don’t know where it is, but … the first half is a repetition of the second half against Brentford, in a quarter-final against Real Madrid,” Tuchel advised reporters.

“(We were) so far off our level in absolutely everything what the game demands,” he mentioned. “You cannot expect a result from this kind of performance.”

He mentioned Chelsea would lose towards Southampton on Saturday in the event that they performed as they did within the first half towards Real Madrid and mentioned it was alarming to have conceded seven targets in two video games, a far cry from the defensive solidity Tuchel launched on his arrival on the membership in January final yr.

He mentioned Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea’s report signing who solely got here on as a second-half substitute, had missed a “very important” likelihood to slender the deficit with a header when the rating was 3-1, however the issues weren’t nearly one or two people.

“If we do not get our heads right and our mentality right then we will not win at Southampton and this tie (against Real Madrid) is not alive,” he mentioned. “If things change, maybe.”