Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has vowed to go on the offensive against Real Madrid when the pair meet in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tomorrow night.
The Blues are in terrific form as they travel to Spain tomorrow evening, with their manager insisting he will tell his players to be adventurous.
Under Tuchel, Chelsea have earned a reputation as one of the meanest sides in Europe — keeping their 16th clean sheet in 21 games since he took charge in Saturday’s 1-0 victory against West Ham, which put them in the driving seat in the race for Champions League qualification.
But he is adamant there will be no negativity when he comes up against Madrid.
He said: “If you arrive in a semi-final you arrive at pretty much the highest level in European football and to play Real Madrid can’t be harder.
“They are the most experienced team in this competition and they will play these games with full confidence and awareness.
“But we will arrive with full confidence because we’ve won crucial matches and had big results in the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League.
“I hope we can play adventurous, aggressive and intensive football. We will fight them hard.”
Ahead of the game, Tuchel also hailed Zinedine Zidane’s record at Real during his first spell in charge of the club. “He has an incredible record in the Champions League, winning it three times in a row is pretty much impossible,” said the German.
“This is what you dream about when you’re a little boy, you dream about games against Real Madrid, no doubt. We want to match Real and give them a tough fight.”
