Tuchel believes the encounter will be made more difficult because the return leg is billed to hold at Real Madrids’ stadium, Bernabeu
By Kehinde Okeowo
Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel, has reacted to the pairing of his team, against La Liga giant, Real Madrid in the rounds of eight of the Champions League, describing it as a ‘big challenge’.
On Friday, March 18, at the UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Chelsea were drawn to play against Real Madrid in one of the four quarter-finals pairings.
Premier League leaders, Man City were also drawn to face the conqueror of their cross-town city rivals, Atletico Madrid, another English club, Liverpool take on Benfica, while Bayern Munich will clash with Unai Emery’s Villarreal.
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Reacting to the draw during his press conference on Friday ahead of Chelseas’ FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough on Saturday. Tuchel said the game will be a tough but interesting one, especially with the return fixture at Bernabeu.
He said, “Tough one. The challenge cannot be much higher than playing the second leg in the Bernabeu with spectators.
“It’s a big challenge, but there is big excitement around this match and around this fixture. We know what’s coming. It will be an exciting match and a tough challenge.
He went on to add that it’s more challenging because his team has played in so many competitions this season.
“It’s nice to play a European team and maybe not at this kind of stage a team you’ve played so many times in domestic competitions,” Tuchel added.
The Blues, who are the holders of the cup qualified for the Champions League’s rounds of eight after seeing off Ligue 1 champions, Lille.
Real Madrid on the other hand, got to this stage, after eliminating Paris Saint-Germain after coming back from a 2-0 deficit to win the encounter 3-2 on aggregate.