“The amount of chocolate”- Tuchel describes sleepless night following Chelsea’s big loss to Madrid

Thomas Tuchel admits to barely sleeping after Chelsea suffer an excruciating defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League

Speaking to ChelseaFC.com, Thomas Tuchel admitted he hardly managed to get any sleep as Chelsea succumbed to a humiliating loss against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

The Blues suffered a grave 1-3 loss against Los Blancos in the first leg of their quarter-final match-up at Stamford Bridge. The German manager would have been left fuming with his side, as their defence was all over the place with Karim Benzema putting up another masterclass in the UCL.

The West Londoners suffered their second defeat in a row after they lost to fellow London-rivals Brentford in their previous Premier League match. Whilst the defending Champions League winners started both the matches brightly, they failed to maintain their consistency over the entirety of those games.

Thomas Tuchel barely slept after Chelsea lost to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel barely slept after Chelsea lost to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

In conversation with Chelseafc.com, Tuchel shed light on the rage that he felt as he re-watched the game that night. He also highlighted that a substantial amount of chocolate was required to get him through that ordeal.

‘I watched it when I got home and in the middle of the night. The next morning, I watched it here [at Cobham] and got angry again. I sat there in the middle of the night and the amount of chocolate I needed was immense so that I could go through the match again! It is not nice, and you start writing and you realise you are writing more and more minutes.’

The former Borussia Dortmund manager has been one of the most adept tacticians in recent times, using players in various positions under different formations. The 48-year-old manager reiterated that it was necessary to analyze the game and provide a suitable message to his players following that.

“I got to sleep late, but it is not the first bad match that we have analysed. Sometimes it is necessary to dig into that. Otherwise, it would not have been possible to sleep as I was too emotionally involved.’

Tuchel’s sleepless night

Chelsea have now suffered back-to-back defeats across all competitions which is a rare sight ever since the ex-Borussia Dortmund manager’s appointment. Whilst the past cannot be changed, one can surely learn from it, and the German manager’s actions give us a good blueprint as to how the club should move forward.

Thomas Tuchel heavily analyzed the game against Madrid. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel heavily analyzed the game against Madrid. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

We have an uphill task of overturning a two-goal deficit at the Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg of the fixture. That being said, it certainly isn’t impossible but each one of our players will have to pull up their socks and put in an exceptional shift on the night.

The former PSG man would be hoping for a better outing this time around, but will first be looking ahead to their game against Southampton in the PL. Getting a victory against the Saints could be crucial in helping build some momentum if we are to cause an upset at the Spanish club’s home ground.

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A victory against Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men would also help us strengthen our grip on the third position in the Premier League table this season. It could thus become a great motivating factor and ease some of the pressure as we head into the business end of the 2021-22 campaign.

We hope that Tuchel can help turn things around at Stamford Bridge with all the chaos at the moment. The German has a stellar resume, managing some of the top clubs across Europe and it would be interesting to see his plan of action following the recent conundrum being faced by the side. An away win against Southampton would be a good place to start, and perhaps will help the German sleep a little better before their 2nd leg tie against Madrid.