Tuchel shares how Chelsea players reacted in team meeting after Real Madrid defeat

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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said he held a meeting with the players after Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Real Madrid.

Last week’s back-to-back home defeats did not only come as a surprise given Chelsea had been on a six-game winning run prior to the international break but also showed worrying signs after conceding seven goals in two games.

These losses cost them a rather comfortable lead over both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in the top four race and were very close to putting an early end to their Champions League campaign.

It had an effect on the team mentally, but Tuchel said he and the players already feel “better” ahead of Saturday’s visit to Southampton.

“Well, we had a talk,” the manager told Chelsea TV when asked about the reaction from his squad after Wednesday’s defeat.

“We showed some situations which we were not happy [with]. I had the feeling that we needed to show where we could have done better.

“It was not a good time for an underperformance. We got punished for it. To do it in a knock-out game is bad because [the tie] is almost decided now [as] it gave you a huge disadvantage.

“It’s disappointing, of course, we could [have done] so much better.

“Yeah, we talked about it with the team yesterday. Watching it [again] and speaking about it after one day helps you process and digest it.

“Today it’s better.”

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