Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admits Timo Werner is ‘angry’ after his latest horror miss against Real Madrid, but bluntly tells his German compatriot it ‘does not help to cry about it… millions of people have harder things to deal with’
- Thomas Tuchel says Timo Werner must forget latest horror miss vs Real Madrid
- Striker wasted a great opportunity to score early on in the Champions League
- Werner has missed several big chances since summer transfer from RB Leipzig
- Tuchel admitted that the forward was angry and disappointed with himself
- Real Madrid 1-1 Chelsea: Champions League semi-final tie finely poised
Thomas Tuchel ordered Timo Werner to forget his latest horror miss as Chelsea wasted the opportunity to clinch a crucial Champions League semi-final lead over Real Madrid.
The Blues boss bemoaned his team’s wastefulness in front of goal as Chelsea squandered several chances to take a first leg advantage back to Stamford Bridge next week.
Christian Pulisic’s excellent solo goal put the Blues ahead in Tuesday night’s semi-final before Karim Benzema levelled with a spectacular finish to leave the tie firmly poised ahead of Wednesday’s return leg.
Thomas Tuchel (L) has ordered Timo Werner (R) to forget his latest horror miss vs Real Madrid
Werner, in particular, wasted a glorious early chance – adding to his growing list of bad misses since arriving for £47million in the summer.
On Werner’s horror miss, Tuchel said: ‘He missed a big one in West Ham now he missed another big one here.
‘That does not help, but it also does not help to cry about it or to regret it all the time.
‘It is like this. There are millions of people who have harder things to deal with than chances that you miss, so this is the good thing about sports – nobody cares tomorrow.
Werner was unable to find the the net from close range with the scoreline at 0-0 early on
It was another frustrating day at the office for Werner as Chelsea squandered several chances
‘Today we were sad, we were angry in the moment, this is normal. He is angry. He is maybe disappointed.
‘Tomorrow he has a free day and the next day he has to put his chin up. He is a professional guy, a top guy, he works hard.
‘He is in positions and from there, on we go. We will never stop pushing, we will never stop believing and I have the feeling that everybody accepts the situation like it is and as a striker it is easy, you score the next game and nobody speaks about it.’
On his side’s general profligacy, Tuchel added: ‘We played a very strong first-half, we should have won the first half.
‘Unfortunately we were a bit unlucky and lacked composure and decision making in the opponent’s box.
‘Maybe we could have decided this match very, very early in the first half an hour when we were playing so, so strong.
‘Next week we have to face another challenge against Real Madrid, it will be another tough one because it is the Champions League semi final, nothing is sure.
Christian Pulisic gave the Blues the lead before Karim Benzema equalised for the home side
‘It is half time and we need to fight for every centimetre and advantage that we want to have, we need to fight and to deserve it.
‘We only had two days in between two away games. Those games were every demanding physically and mentally so you could feel that in the decision making and some ball losses and acceleration.
‘One more day would have been great for us. Now is the challenge to enjoy a free day then forget this result.
‘We suffered physically. We defend together as a team. The strikers have their job. We defend as a block as 11 people.
‘I don’t feel that we are pointing fingers. The strikers are the first guys who want to score and be decisive and to do it for themselves.’
Benzema’s acrobatic strike has left the Champions League semi-final tie finely poised
