Gary Lineker has hailed "excellent" Chelsea, after the Blues reached the Champions League final with a 3-1 aggregate semi-final win over Real Madrid.
Goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount sealed a comfortable 2-0 victory over Zinedine Zidane's side at Stamford Bridge in the second leg, and booked Chelsea's place in the final where they will face Manchester City in Istanbul on 29 May.
Speaking after the game, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel was quick to praise his players after the impressive display against the 13-times European champions.
“It gives us a good feeling, it gives us self-confidence,” Tuchel said after the match.
“We played that semi-final on the edge and we used it because Bayern Munich, with Manchester City, are the benchmark.
"We wanted to close the gap to Man City in the semi-final, which we did and we will need the same level of performance again.
"But it gave us belief for every game after that because it’s the highest level you can face.
“We have these huge challenges in Premier League.
"We came out of it very strongly, so we will arrive with confidence and a positive energy in Istanbul, hopefully with no injured players.
"We will arrive in Istanbul to win, not to be one of the participants.”
Taking to social media after the match, BT Sport presenter Lineker was similarly effusive about the Blues' performance, but did not hold back in his assessment of Real Madrid.
The former England striker tweeted: "Finally Chelsea bury the semifinal.
"They’ve been excellent and a million miles the better side against the poorest Real Madrid team I think I’ve ever seen."
