Chelsea suffered a 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg. It was an excellent show from Karim Benzema as he came up with a brilliant hat-trick as the reigning champions looked very shabby in defence.
Kai Havertz scored the only goal for the Blues near the halftime whistle cutting the deficit down. However, another mistake in the second half allowed Benzema to complete his hat-trick. But Thomas Tuchel rued the chance that Romelu Lukaku missed as he had a great chance to bring the match and the tie back in Chelsea’s contention.
Tuchel feels that probably that miss has cost his team the tie. The Belgian forward was brought on in the second half. Lukaku had a great chance when a swiping chance came straight at him but he failed to make the right connection with the header. He was completely free and the execution should have been much better at this level.
After the match, Thomas Tuchel highlighted how that missed opportunity may end up costing his team the tie and a place in the semifinals. “It was very important. There are no longer away goals so if we have only a one-goal deficit or a draw, then you see the momentum is back when we score. We could have even equalised. There were a lot of spaces and chances. But the individual decisions today were far from our level of standards,” Tuchel told reporters after the game.
The German tactician shared how without the away goal rule, goals are crucial for any team. So had it been 3-2 then his team would still be in the game. Chelsea came out all guns blazing in the second half and had Lukaku scored from that chance things may have been different instead they allowed Real Madrid to score the third goal.
“But yes, to come back with a chance like this at 3-2, after 16 shots in the second half alone, then goals are crucial. We didn’t get them. We gave the third one away. It is simply impossible. We cannot demand that we turn it around if this is our foundation for this game.”
The 28-year-old’s struggle at Stamford Bridge continues as he has been very poor with his return. The former Inter Milan man joined the side in a club-record £97.8 million deal. He scored three goals in five matches living up to his big goalscoring reputation. However, then his form dipped and there were issues with fitness as well. Overall it has been a major struggle for Lukaku at Stamford Bridge but for now, Tuchel needs to find a way to help his team make a comeback in the second leg against Los Blancos.
