Thomas Tuchel says Real Madrid win really huge

Thomas Tuchel hailed
the hunger of his “fantastic” Chelsea stars as they secured a famous
win over Real Madrid to set up an all-English Champions League final.

Goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount booked Chelsea’s
first Champions League final appearance since they won the competition for the
only time in 2012.

Tuchel’s side will face Premier League rivals Manchester
City in the final in Istanbul on May 29.

“This is really huge so I’m absolutely delighted with
this spirit and big credit to this team,” said Tuchel.

Chelsea’s 3-1 aggregate victory was well deserved as they
produced a commanding display in the semifinal second-leg at Stamford Bridge,
stifling Real’s sporadic attacks and repeatedly hitting them on the counter.

They could easily have won more convincingly and Blues boss
Tuchel was impressed by their tenacious performance.

“It was difficult in the first half when they had a lot
of possession and made us suffer,” Tuchel said. “We were dangerous on
counter attacks, but never lost the desire or hunger to defend.

“It was a fantastic performance in the second half and
we could have scored more earlier to be safe.

“It is a fantastic achievement and big congratulations
to the team.”

Chelsea, who also have an FA Cup final date against
Leicester on the horizon, have kept 19 clean sheets since Tuchel replaced the
sacked Frank Lampard in January.

That defensive efficiency will give them a chance against
City, who they have already beaten in the FA Cup semi-finals this season.

Chelsea face City again in the Premier League on Saturday and Tuchel won’t look further ahead than that.

We deserved better: says Pochettino after Champions League exit

“Ask me four days before the final,” he said of
Chelsea’s chances in Turkey. “It is too early to talk about the final
because there can be injured players, out of form or whatever happens.

“We need to wait and see, hopefully we arrive with the
whole squad and in a good moment, because it is not done yet.

“We want to go all the way, and that means arriving in
Istanbul wanting to win.”

‘Should have scored
five’

Tuchel also guided Paris Saint-Germain to last season’s Champions League final, where they lost to Bayern Munich, and he conceded it was a surprise to be back in the showpiece so soon.

Pep Guardiola hails Manchester City players after reaching UCL final

“I am very happy that we have achieved this, I am very
grateful and thankful to have this opportunity,” he said.

“You can never be ahead of plan as a manager and as a
player, it does not exist.”

Mount’s goal in the closing minutes was a well-deserved
moment in the spotlight towards the end of a superb individual season for the
England midfielder.

Mount has emerged as Chelsea’s driving force as he silenced
the critics who claimed he was given favourable treatment by former manager
Frank Lampard.

Tuchel has quickly come to rely on the 22-year-old and he
will have been impressed to hear Mount isn’t ready to rest on his laurels.

“We should probably have scored about five, but the
most important thing is we won tonight,” Mount said. “I can’t put it
into words. To get that goal late on, you can see by the celebrations, it was a
massive goal and gave us breathing space.

“We haven’t won nothing yet. We’ve got two
massive cup finals and hopefully we can win them.”

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/sports/2021/05/thomas-tuchel-says-real-madrid-win-really-huge/