Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea will need to "over perform" if they are to knockout Real Madrid when they face the Spanish side in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
A Karim Benzema hat-trick saw Real beat a poor Chelsea 3-1 in the first leg at Stamford Bridge last week. Tuchel said after the game that he felt the tie was no longer in the land of the living. Though, Chelsea's 6-0 victory against Southampton at the weekend may have reanimated some optimism in the German.
"We need nothing else than a fantastic script if we want to be able to overcome this," Tuchel said during a press conference ahead of the game.
"The challenge is incredibly high given the circumstances of the first leg and where we play and against whom we play. 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 be ready tomorrow.
"It’s worth trying in sports. It’s a beauty of the game that everything is possible always. We will try everything and from there we see. Hopefully belief grows within the match by our actions and hopefully we can fulfil our dream. But realistically we have to invest a lot and be at our very top level.”
Real Madrid have beaten the reigning champions of the UEFA Champions League in each of their last four meetings ✨
The true 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 of Europe 👑#UCL pic.twitter.com/rW4oYVSXHh— LiveScore (@livescore) April 7, 2022
En route to winning last season's Champions League, Chelsea defeated Real in the semi-final, 3-1 on aggregate. Though, the away leg was played at an empty Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium rather than at a packed Bernabéu.
"What chance do we have?" said Tuchel.
"Not the biggest chance. But we never manage our effort and belief by the chances we have for a result. Trying means that we will play to the full limit. It is unlikely that me make it but it is worth trying. We will try to be in better shape and better condition than in the first match.
"We need to learn from last week's game. That's the beauty of the competition at this stage, that you have two matches at short notice, and you can learn from games. You can use pictures, moments and situations from the first leg to learn for the second leg. This is what we try to do, and will use for the preparation for this match."
Picture credit: Antoine Barthelemy / Shutterstock.com
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