Mario Melchiot reacts to Tuchel's honest Chelsea admission after Real Madrid loss
Former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot has had his say on Thomas Tuchel’s honest admission on his team’s form after Wednesday’s defeat to Real Madrid.
Tuchel was obviously not happy with the result, but he was also unusually concerned about his team’s overall performance.
There were when Chelsea failed to secure expected results and Tuchel simply expressed how proud he was of his players’ performance afterward.
Not this time.
In his post-match interviews, Tuchel highlighted how he was not confident that his Chelsea side would be able to win against Southampton at the weekend based on their recent performances, let alone in the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu.
Melchiot believes the manager wanted the players to completely focus on the next games which may shape the rest of their season.
“It comes down to what kind of confidence you can get out of the [next games],” the former Netherlands international told Sky Sports (via Football Daily).
“That’s why Tuchel mentioned the Southampton game. How are they going to come out of that game, and how are they going to walk into the Real Madrid game?
“Because that is the part of the confidence that’s going to create the journey or whatever they want to end up in.
“Definitely you want to play in the Champions League season, that’s why they’re fighting for that.
“But I don’t think that [the top four race] is going to be a big problem [for Chelsea].”
Bear in mind, despite the five-point lead over fourth-placed Tottenham and fifth-placed Arsenal, Chelsea are not yet safe in the race for the top four in the Premier League.
Another slip this weekend and Tuchel’s men would have to play under pressure on a weekly basis.
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