Tuchel: “We have a great physical disadvantage because Madrid have played the whole season with five substitutions”

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel spoke to the media in London before his team head off to Madrid today for a crucial Champions League 2nd leg quarter-final clash vs Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Tuchel spoke about his team’s chances, updates on his squad, and more.

“With the injury news, Callum Hudson-Odoi is still out and Ben Chilwell is of course out for a long time,” Tuchel said.

“Romelu will not travel due to his pain in the achilles that he has felt recently but Azpi is in the group. He has tested negative several times now and is okay to be part of the squad.

“Ross Barkley is sick, however, and will not travel with us later. That is the situation right now and everyone else is in the squad.”

Tuchel was then asked about his team’s chances for the second leg.

“Of course we don’t have the biggest chance given the result from the first leg,” Tuchel said.

“Given the competition, the opponent and the stadium it will be very difficult but we never manage our input by the chances we have for our result.

“It is unlikely [turning around the tie] but it is worth trying and trying means that we will play to our fullest and to our full limit. This is what it is, it is a big night for us.

“The challenge is incredibly difficult, but we have the right to dream. Sometimes it is important to imagine things and dream. This is sport and the beauty of sport is that anything can happen.”

Interestingly, Tuchel also took a moment to discuss his team’s disadvantages due to the differences between Premier League and La Liga rules.

”We tried to plan (in the first leg) a more physical game, more intense. We have a great physical disadvantage because Madrid have played the whole season with five substitutions and we play in the most physically demanding league,” Tuchel explained.

“We couldn’t implement a higher pace in the first game because of his physicality and his ability to slow down the game. We will have to find a way to introduce a more physical game.”