Thomas Tuchel
Thomas, what are your feelings after all that?
“We are very disappointed and very proud at the same time. We played a fantastic match and deserved what we had. We scored four goals and had big chances to score even more. We were unlucky, that’s why we are disappointed. We got beaten by pure individual quality and offensive conversion after our mistakes. Unfortunately, we had two mistakes after ball wins, and they were the most crucial moments in games against Real Madrid. In the end, we were unlucky. We deserved to go through after this performance and match today, but it was not meant to be. As you know, in games like these, you need luck and it was not on our side.”
In Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, are these two players who have the individual quality to produce the decisiveness you wished you had?
“They did not create a lot at Stamford Bridge, but they took every half chance and converted it. This answers your question. This was enough. You have to reduce your amount of mistakes, and we could not reduce it to an absolute minimum over the two legs. That is why the deficit was so high. Then you come here and play a match like this and, as I said, we have two crucial ball losses that only against very few teams end in a goal. Against Real Madrid, it is possible. Still, even over both legs and today, I think we deserved to go through. We were unlucky, but there are no regrets. These are the kind of defeats you can take with pride and accept as a sportsman.”
Can you talk us through your plan as it was very effective and allowed you to dominate Real Madrid?
“The players lived up to the plan in a very different way than we did against Brentford and in the first leg. This is a huge difference. We were never shy of making the point that this is the most important: how we live up to a tactic and how lively we play in a structure. This was at the full limit today. This is where the credit goes to the players. We were very disciplined on the ball and very active and had a lot of investment off the ball. We showed a lot of courage, and from there, we showed a lot of quality, and this was the right way to do it. This is what we did against Southampton to show a reaction three days ago, and it’s what we did today. I’m very happy. It’s the way to go forward. We demand a lot from the players, and if we have this kind of effort, we are a special team. If not, we can lose against anybody. So the point is made. The demands are high and to demand it in three matches with our schedule is not easy, but they showed a lot of character today and can be very proud. But at the same time, we are disappointed.”
You seemed to have an angry discussion with the referee after the match?
“I was disappointed that the referee had a good time with my colleague, Carlo Ancelotti. I know Carlo is a gentleman and a nice guy, but when I wanted to go and say thank you for the match, I saw him smiling and laughing loudly with the opponents’ coach. I think this is the very, very wrong time to do this after a final whistle and 126 minutes where one team gave all their hearts and fought until the last drop. You go and see the referee smiling and laughing with the other coach. I think it is very, very bad timing. I told him this, and that’s it.”
What were your thoughts on Antonio Rudiger’s performance?
“Toni was outstanding. It was a world-class performance in all belongings. It is what he does on an extremely high level. It is his mentality and focus, and leadership all combined. It is outstanding. This is another example of what he can do after another. That’s it.”
Frustrated with the disallowed goal and the added time at the end, did you feel decisions went against you today?
“Not only today…it is like this. Maybe I get myself into a problem. But if you play Real Madrid, you cannot expect that everyone has the courage [to make decisions]. I also felt the little decisions in the first leg and the second leg today. I did not see the goal, but I told him that I was super disappointed that he does not come out and check it on his own. In a match like this where you have a certain line to whistle, you should stay the boss and not give decisions like this to somebody in a chair who is isolated from the atmosphere and from the way how a referee – he has a certain style and certain things that he allows and does not allow, and he follows a certain line – so I think he should stay in charge and check it on his own then he could also explain it better. It is just my opinion. I thought we deserved more minutes in the end because it felt like we had no minutes to play in the second half of the extra time. Maybe it is too much to ask for in matches like this against this opponent. We had it in our hands, and we were not lucky enough. It is like this.”
