Tuchel on Chelsea’s approach tomorrow: “Physical, intense, focused.”

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel spoke to the media at Stamford Bridge today as his team get set to face Real Madrid tomorrow night in a big Champions League quarter-final clash. Tuchel spoke about the team’s preparation tomorrow, as well as his team’s shock 1 - 4 loss to Brentford over the weekend.

“We had a day off which was necessary to digest it,” Tuchel said of the loss to Brentford.

“We talked openly about it in a debrief, which is very usual for us. We set new targets, which is what you do no matter if you win or lose.

“We did not like what happened, but we consider this the exception of the rule. We were open to ourselves and allowed ourselves on Monday to focus on the match tomorrow.

“We need to be better on the pitch, we are the first to admit it, but we need the crowd to be better, we need everybody on the front foot,”

Tuchel was also asked whether or not he look at film from last year’s semi-final clash where Chelsea beat Real convincingly.

“I did not even look at it in preparation,” Tuchel claimed.

“That maybe answers the question. It’s a new coach, a new team, with spectators.

“There is no point to prove again or whatever, we are out to prove a point anyway to bounce back from Saturday’s performance. We want to play the right way, the way we want to play: physical, intense, focused.”

Finally, Tuchel spoke about the greatness of the upcoming occasion, and even addressed a question on whether Real Madrid have declined from years’ past.

“It’s normal cycles like this change at some point, but we should be aware teams with this kind of experience and quality can produce special performances on special nights,” Tuchel emphasized.

“For us, it’s also a pretty special occasion. That’s why we also feel pretty excited. We don’t lose too much sleep about where they are in Europe. We want to prove a point to ourselves again, that’s the target. The occasion is special, the opponent is special, and that’s why we are very excited.”