Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admitted in his post-match interview after yesterday’s defeat to Real Madrid that he made a big mistake in his tactical selection of Andreas Christensen.
The Blues fans watched their side suffer another heavy defeat at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, losing 3-1 against Spanish leaders Real Madrid in a Champions League thriller.
Karim Benzema’s hat-trick inside 46 minutes has put Carlo Ancelotti’s side firmly in the driving seat during the two-legged quarter-final tie. However, Kai Havertz’s first-half goal has perhaps given the Blues a glimmer of hope going into next week’s second leg against Madrid at the Bernabeu.
For Chelsea, they simply couldn’t live with Madrid attackers Benzema and Vinicius Junior in the opening 45 minutes.
In particular, Brazilian winger Vinicius absolutely tormented Blues defender Christensen, who started as the right-sided centre-back in a back three.
Tuchel opted to change formation and personnel at half-time to combat the threat, albeit the damage had already been done.
Christensen, 25, was left massively exposed one-on-one against Vinicius, and received little help from wing-back Reece James at times.
Tuchel was very honest afterwards when asked if he made a mistake starting Christensen on the right of a three:
Chelsea error
Christensen, who’s reportedly already agreed to sign for Barcelona ahead of next season, had a poor 45 minutes last night before being substituted off.
First of all, the Denmark international is still a top player and wasn’t the only Chelsea individual to fail last night.
He’s an impressive ball-playing defender that usually looks comfortable anywhere in a back three, especially in the heart of defence.
However, he was effectively asked to do a full-back’s job when Madrid deployed the tactic of keeping Vinicius high up the pitch.
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