Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will be hoping his side are able to pull off one of the great Champions League comebacks when they face Real Madrid in the second leg of the quarter-finals. The Blues are currently 3-1 down on aggregate, with a Karim Benzema hat-trick the difference between the two sides.
Kai Havertz ’s solitary goal at Stamford Bridge has given the side some hope though, with a two-goal deficit needing to be caught up. What will equally help Chelsea is the removal of the away goals rule, meaning a win by a two-goal margin will take the game to extra time no matter what.
Something that will also encourage Tuchel is the 6-0 thrashing of Southampton in response to their loss, though the German admitted it will be tough to turn the tide against Los Blancos. He said, speaking in his pre-match press conference: “Not the biggest chance given the first game's results 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 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.”
The German coach has a number of selection issues to think about, knowing the team that starts has to be right to give him the best shot of winning the game. One of which is the choice of striker, with Havertz often leading the line this season, but Timo Werner’s brace against the Saints giving him a chance to stake a claim to a first-team shirt.
Well, Havertz may have dropped a team news hint to his Instagram story before the game. The Germany international reposted a pre-match hype graphic from the Chelsea account, with the forward standing as the main focus of the image.
It could hint at him starting the game in the Spanish capital, though it has been noted before that the pre-match graphics won’t always result in a player starting. The 22-year-old could be a reliable option though, having scored 13 goals this season and assisting five across all competitions.
Whether Tuchel opts for him remains to be seen, but the forward has already proven to be a big-game player. His goal in the last leg has given the side something to work with, but they will have to build on it to be able to make it count.
