Tuchel: Chelsea are disappointed but proud

By

Thomas Tuchel felt Chelsea could feel proud of their efforts against Real Madrid.

The holders went out of the Champions League despite a scintillating quarter-final comeback at the Bernabéu.

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, they wiped out Real aggregate lead with goals from Mason Mount and Antonio Rudiger before Timo Werner’s goal put Chelsea within sight of victory.


But Rodrygo’s goal took the tie to extra time and Karim Benzema’s header put Real into the semi-finals.

“We deserved to go through and we were unlucky,” Blues boss Tuchel said.

“But there are no regrets. These are the kind of defeats that you can take with pride and accept as a sportsman.

“We showed a lot of courage and a lot of quality. If we have this kind of effort then we are a special team.

“They showed a lot of character and can be very proud, but at the same time we are of course disappointed.”