Madrid: Chelsea manager Thomas
Tuchel said his team need a "fantastic script" to overturn a two-goal
deficit against Real Madrid on Tuesday and qualify for the Champions League
semi-finals.
Reigning European champions
Chelsea have been destabilised by the enforced sale of the club after the
British government sanctioned owner Roman Abramovich for his close links to
Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea's 3-1 defeat in the
first leg at Stamford Bridge last week followed a surprise 4-1 home defeat to
Brentford in the Premier League, although Chelsea got back on track with a 6-0
thrashing of Southampton this weekend.
"It is one of the biggest
challenges to perform away at the Bernabeu," Tuchel said.
"It is even more
difficult if you have to earn a certain result, if you need to win with a
minimum of two goals or better or maybe a three-goal difference, that makes it
almost impossible and very, very difficult but still it is worth trying.
"We need nothing else
than a fantastic script if we want to overcome this," the German said.
"The task is incredibly
high and the challenge is incredibly high given the circumstances of the first
leg and where we play and against whom we play and at what stage we play this
kind of match.
"It's always allowed to
dream and it is sometimes important to imagine things and to dream about it but
it will not shift the focus from the fact that we need to deliver and we need
to be ready tomorrow."
Tuchel said he believed
Chelsea face a "huge disadvantage" as 13-times European champions
Real have been able to make five substitutions throughout their domestic
season.
He said he believes that
difference was one of the reasons his players failed to show the physical edge
to their game in the first leg when Karim Benzema dominated the Chelsea defence
to score his second hat-trick of this season's competition.
"We face a huge
disadvantage in terms of physicality because Real Madrid has a whole year with five
changes and we play the most demanding league, we play the most matches
throughout the season and throughout 2022 so it is not always easy to play a
physical game," Tuchel said.
"We are a team that needs
the physicality, the sharpness, the commitment and the investment to be a
special team. We could not implement that enough in the last match."
Five substitutions will be
allowed in the Premier League from next season. AP n Turin
AC Milan missed a chance to cement their
position as Serie A leaders on Sunday after only managing a goalless draw at
Torino which left them just two points ahead of the chasing pack.
Pioli's side had the chance to
extend their lead to four after Napoli slumped to a 3-2 home defeat at the
hands of Fiorentina but once again underwhelmed against modest opposition.
The draw not only let
third-placed Napoli off the hook but gave Milan's local rivals Inter Milan the
upper hand in an enthralling race for the Scudetto, as the champions also sit
two back in second after their 2-0 win over Verona on Saturday but with a game
in hand.
Also big winners this weekend
are Juventus, who looked out of the picture after being defeated by Inter last
weekend but are now six points back in fourth with six matches still to play.
"Torino are tough for
everyone to score against. We battled hard but we're missing that little moment
of magic," said Pioli to DAZN.
"Three weeks ago we were
the favourites, then it was Napoli, then Inter... I think it's going to be
close right up until the final day."
Milan have kept six straight
clean sheets but have had trouble finding the net in recent weeks and, hampered
by last-minute injuries to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ismael Bennacer and Ante Rebic,
on Sunday did little to suggest they are a title-winning side.
A combination of rock-solid
Torino defending led by the unflappable Bremer and poor finishing, exemplified
by Sandro Tonali's weak shot in a great position with 15 minutes remaining,
enabled Torino to gain another home point against one of the big boys after
similar results with Inter and Juventus.
In fact it was Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan who made the best save of the match five minutes after the break from Mergim Vojvoda, while Fikayo Tomori had to be at his best to block a powerful effort from Andrea Belotti 15 minutes later. (Agencies)
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