LONDON —
Thomas Tuchel hailed his “special
team” after Chelsea’s reign as European champions came to an agonizing end,
with his task now to lift his players for a crucial FA Cup semi-final this
weekend.
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The Blues had one foot in the
Champions League semi-finals at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday after staging a stunning
comeback to wipe out Madrid’s 3–1 lead from the first leg of the last-eight
tie.
Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner put the
reigning European champions on the brink of an historic victory.
But Real’s veteran midfielder Luka Modric produced a
moment of magic to set up Rodrygo, and
Karim Benzema headed in the winner,
meaning the 13-time European champions progressed 5–4 on aggregate after
extra-time.
It is a bitter disappointment for
Chelsea, who have
managed to maintain their focus over the past two months despite swirling
off-field distractions.
German boss
Tuchel, whose team beat
Manchester City in last year’s Champions League final,
said his players could not have given “one single percent more” in Madrid.
“We played a fantastic match,” he said. “We deserved
what we had. We scored four goals (one was disallowed), we had big chances to
score more. We were unlucky. We got beaten by pure individual quality and
offensive conversion.”
He added: “We were very disciplined on the ball, and
very active off the ball. We showed a lot of courage, and from there we showed
the quality. It was the right way to do it. I am very happy. This is the way to
go forward.”
“If we have this kind of effort we are a special
team, and if not we can lose against anybody. They showed a lot of character.
We can be very proud.”
Defender Rudiger
praised the team’s “incredible fight over 120 minutes” while midfielder Mount
said Chelsea had “proved our might”.
It was a remarkable performance in a remarkable
season for the London club, who were thrown into turmoil last month when
Russian billionaire
Roman Abramovich announced he was selling up following
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The British government subsequently imposed
sanctions on Abramovich, which included severe financial restrictions on the
London club.
FA Cup chance
Despite the upheaval,
Chelsea have won every game since Abramovich’s announcement on March 2 apart
from a shock defeat by Brentford and the first-leg loss against Madrid.
Tuchel’s side must now re-focus for Sunday’s FA Cup
semi-final against
Crystal Palace and concentrate on sealing their spot in the
top four of the Premier League.
Chelsea, last year’s beaten FA finalists, will fancy
their chances of getting past Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace side and setting
up a showdown against Manchester City or Liverpool.
They are heavy favorites to finish in the top four,
which would secure Champions League football for next season -- Chelsea are
third in the table, eight points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal.
The
Stamford Bridge club, who have already secured the Club
World Cup this season, can hold their heads high after their brave effort in
Madrid, knowing there is plenty more to play for.
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