Thomas Tuchel urged his team to complete a historic double as Chelsea stormed past Real Madrid to set-up a mouth-watering all-English Champions League final.
The Blues produced a dominant display against the Spanish giants to clinch their place in this month’s Istanbul showpiece against Premier League champions-elect Manchester City later this month.
Timo Werner and Mason Mount scored the crucial goals to cap a stylish performance from Chelsea — who are now on for a historic European and FA Cup double.
But Tuchel insists reaching two finals is not enough: “We need to arrive in the final in a good moment and a good atmosphere — it’s not done yet. We want to go all the way, we go to Istanbul to win. The job is not done yet, we are in two finals now.
“I’m very proud, they deserved to win tonight. They made us suffer but we were dangerous and we never lost the hunger and desire to defend.
“It was a huge performance and we could have scored so much more — but now is not the time for criticism because it’s a fantastic achievement. Massive congratulations.
“To hang in there and never lose concentration. Huge. This was a performance full of spirit, hunger and positive attitude. Absolutely delighted.”
The German has become the first coach to reach consecutive Champions League finals with different teams having finished runners-up with Paris Saint-Germain last season.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“I’m happy we achieved this. I’m very grateful to live my life in football, to do it on this level, and coach a team like this and reach the final again, I’m very grateful,” said Tuchel.
“Every sacrifice, every single day has been worth it to be at this amazing club. I’m very grateful to be at the sideline of this club.”
Chelsea face Manchester City in the Premier League this weekend in a game that could provide an indication of how the final may pan out.
The Blues beat City to reach the FA Cup final last month and Tuchel said: “The semi-final doesn’t give us upper hand, but it can give us confidence and a good feeling.”
Goalscorer Mount echoed his manager’s sentiments by insisting reaching the final isn’t enough, saying: “The most important thing is we won tonight, but it’s not there yet and there’s one game left. I haven’t won anything yet. So hopefully we’ve got two massive cup finals and hopefully we can win.
“I can’t put it into words at the moment. It was a great performance on a tough, tough night.
“You know what they’re like, they will come and give it everything. We worked hard and could have had about five.
“It was 1-0, but it didn’t matter because if they scored they’re back in the game. It was good to get that late one, you can see by the celebrations.
“It was a massive goal for us and gave us breathing space in the last five minutes.
“We gave it everything, we had that desire and we wanted to win. You can see in the first-half we could have countered and scored but we got the one late on.”
— DailyMail
