Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel cannot wait to face Real Madrid with his young squad in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Tuchel has told his defenders to embrace the experience of facing Los Blancos as the Blues attempt to reach their first final since 2012. It is the first time since 2014 that Chelsea have reached the last four of Europe’s elite competition but Tuchel says they can dare to dream.
Madrid have won the Champions League three times under manager Zinedine Zidane, with many of those European champions in their squad.
“Zidane has an incredible record, especially in the Champions League, which he won three times in a row which is pretty much impossible to do,” Tuchel told reporters. “We arrived in the semi-final and on the highest level, we will play Real Madrid and it cannot be harder.
“That’s because they are the most experienced team in this competition. They will play these games with full confidence and awareness. They are on a very good run at the moment. Sixteen or so games unbeaten. I am sure we will arrive with confidence and true inner belief.
“We have now crucial matches in the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League after performing and getting good results. I hope we can play adventurous football. We can play aggressive and intense football. We will fight them hard and let’s see who gets the win out of these two games.
“It’s a big challenge and after it, we will be smarter and better. This will be a huge experience together. We are very happy to arrive at this level. This is what you dream of as a little boy, to play international games against Real Madrid, there’s no doubt about it.”
