Thomas Tuchel gave an extremely damning verdict of Chelsea's chances of overturning their Champions League tie with Real Madrid.
The Blues succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, leaving them with a mountain to climb in the second leg next week. Chelsea's form has dipped sharply in recent games, losing 4-1 to Brentford over the weekend, also at home.
Having slipped to 14 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City, the Champions League, along with the FA Cup, is Chelsea's last hopes of silverware this season. And Tuchel was extremely frank when asked if the Blues could turn things around in Madrid.
When asked if he thinks the tie is still alive, he responded no, before adding: "If we play like this, we will lose in Southampton and then we don’t need to think about Bernabeu because we will get hammered in Bernabeu."
Earlier in the interview, BT Sport's Des Kelly commented on his downbeat demeanour, prompting the German to snap back. "What do you expect from me? To smile? Of course I am down," Tuchel said.
"No, we don’t have to go to Madrid, we have to go to Southampton. I think this is very, very important we process this. It’s crucial we go to Southampton, and I will make sure everyone processes this."
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Tuchel further reflected on the manner of the defeat, admitting there were several factors that led to the result. "It’s a heavy loss. One of the worst first halves I’ve seen from us at Stamford Bridge," he said.
"At this level you cannot play like this, individually and a team, from all of us it was not enough. We were not doing what we are used to do, it was far from our standards.
"Everything, when we pass, where we pass, attacking, possession game, the intensity and desire to win challenges, how we closed spaces. The first half was so far from any standards we set ourselves that we cannot complain when we lose like this."
