The manager of Chelsea football club, Thomas Tuchel has described the Premier League club as a team to be feared after trashing Spanish club, Atletico Madrid out of the UEFA Champions League campaign.
On Wednesday, March 17, Chelsea welcomed Atletico Madrid for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, and the Premier League side was able to seal the deal against all the odds.
During the meeting, Chelsea’s new signing, Hakim Ziyech scored the first goal in the 34th minute. Afterward, the match dragged on as the Spanish La Liga table-toppers fought to get back to the contest.
After Chelsea’s first goal in the second leg of the round, the game became tougher for Atletico Madrid when Stefan Savic received a red card for elbowing Toni Rudiger in the 81st minute. In the additional minute of the game, Emerson Palmieri made it two for Chelsea. The match ended 2-0.
Recall that in the first leg of the round, Chelsea stunned Atletico Madrid 1-0 away from home. With Chelsea’s 2-0 win in the second leg of the round, the Premier League side knocked out the Spanish giants 3-0 on aggregate.
After the second leg of the game, coach Thomas Tuchel who has not recorded a defeat since he became the coach of Chelsea, said his team played with a special bond.
He said: “The most important is that we feel we deserve this. The most important is that we give the feedback for the guys what they did here in terms of quality and intensity.
“It’s most important you feel it and that no one has to convince you. You need to feel it.
“They play with a special bond and performances and results like this give you a certain edge and glue to achieve special things. You can only achieve this through results and experiences.
“I’m pretty sure no one wants to play against us. It’s a super-difficult challenge ahead because we are already in the last eight.
“It’s a big step, but no need to be afraid, we take what we get and prepare as best as possible.”
On the other hand, the coach of Atletico Madrid, Diego Simeone could not help but praised Chelsea and described the Premier League club as a better team.
“I think you have to congratulate your opponent when they are the better team,” said Simeone.
“We are not afraid in the slightest of what comes next; we’ve always struggled this season in the Champions League.
“It’s been a tough campaign for us, and of course we weren’t the best team today, Chelsea were.
“We have to improve. We go again from Friday and push on with the same motivation and dedication and the same enthusiasm as we look to focus on the next game.”
Chelsea will wait until Friday, March 19, to know their opponent in the quarter-final stage of the competition while Atletico Madrid will concentrate on winning the La Liga title.
