Gary Neville is not confident Chelsea can overturn the 3-1 deficit to Real Madrid on Tuesday evening in the Champions League quarter-final second-leg. The Blues slumped to defeat last week after being on the receiving end of a Karim Benzema masterclass at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea, who scored with five minutes remaining of the first half through Kai Havertz, were outclassed on the night but did have their opportunities to reduce the deficit, or even draw the game. Los Blancos were clinical in west London - and that's all they needed to be on the night as they now boast a two-goal advantage going into the decisive leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel knows his side have it all to do in Spain, with the Chelsea boss explaining the difficulty of producing a comeback against the 13-times winners of the competition. The German said this on Monday morning: "What chance? Not the biggest chance given the first game's result and given the competition and the opponent and the stadium we play.
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"We never manage our input and our effort and our belief by the chances we have for our result. We never did and we will not start tomorrow by giving less because it is very unlikely that we will make it.
"It is unlikely but it is worth trying and trying means that we will play to our fullest and to our full limit because this is what we do and we never manage our input and investment by the chances of having a result. This is what it is, it is a big night and a big match and we will try to be in better shape and condition than in the first match."
Neville, when reviewing Chelsea's 6-0 win over Southampton at the weekend and looking forward to Tuesday night's massive European clash on his podcast, has backed Real Madrid to have too much when the sides go head-to-head again later on in the week. "It was a good win for them [Chelsea against Southampton].
"They are the third-best team in the country, they're consistent, they've got a great manager. Their spirit hasn't been dampened in the last few weeks, they have a strong group.
"I'm not sure they are going to continue in the Champions League, but that is what it is, they're playing against Real Madrid. From that point of view, I think for Chelsea, over the next few weeks: cement third-place, get the season over, get new owners in and they need to make sure they keep their manager.
"They need to keep the behind-the-scenes staff on the footballing side. Also, they need to keep their players in place. They need to stabilise."
Joe Cole, though, when talking about his former club's chances directly after the first leg last week, is feeling a bit more optimistic than his old England team-mate. "I’d be betting with my heart to say Chelsea can go through," Cole said on BT Sport.
Tuchel confirmed in his press conference on Friday that he will be without Ben Chilwell (knee injury), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Achilles injury), Romelu Lukaku (Achilles injury) and Ross Barkley (illness) for the return leg on Tuesday. The German did, though, reveal that Cesar Azpilicueta will return to the squad after the Chelsea captain tested negative for Covid-19.
