Benzema destroys Chelsea’s dream
Tuchel after Aus “very disappointed and very proud”
04/13/2022, 06:49 am
Chelsea almost made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League. This knowledge makes it easier for coach Thomas Tuchel to “accept” the defeat in extra time against Real Madrid. Antonio Rüdiger is also “proud of the mentality of the team”.
Thomas Tuchel reacted to Chelsea’s Champions League exit with mixed feelings. “We are very disappointed and very proud at the same time,” said the German head coach after the 3-2 after extra time at Real Madrid, which was not enough to reach the semi-finals due to the 1-3 in the first leg. “We played a great game. We deserved what we had. We scored four goals and had great chances to score more. We were unlucky and were beaten by sheer individual quality and offensive execution,” he said.
However, the video referee conceded Marcos Alonso’s supposed fourth goal for Chelsea in the 63rd minute because the ball jumped into the hand of the Spaniard before the shot on goal. Before that, Mason Mount (15th minute) and the German national soccer players Antonio Rüdiger (51st) and Timo Werner (75th) gave the table third in the English Premier League a 3-0 lead. That would have been enough to get into the semifinals. Rodrygo (80′) saved Real in extra time, in which Karim Benzema (96′) scored the decisive goal.
“We deserved to progress after this performance,” said Tuchel. “But it wasn’t meant to be. You need luck in games like this and that wasn’t on our side.” There is nothing to regret, said Tuchel. “It’s the kind of defeat that you can take pride in and accept as an athlete.”
Rüdiger then wrote about a “frustrating” on social networks, but also praised Chelsea’s “incredible fight”. He was “proud of the mentality of the team”.