Thomas Tuchel has urged Chelsea to savour the joy of the Champions League rather than feeling the pressure of facing the Spanish league leaders Atletico Madrid.
Tuchel took Paris Saint-Germain to the final for the first time in their history last season but Chelsea have not reached the last eight since 2014, when Diego Simeone's Atletico knocked them out in the semi-finals.
Chelsea are underdogs but unbeaten under Tuchel and he exuded confidence as he savoured a tough test.
“In sport, we should look to the chances and the joy and hopefully we feel the joy more than the pressure,” he said.
“Are we well equipped? Yes, that is very easy to answer. I love what I see on a daily basis here, I love what I feel, what I feel the quality and intensity and enthusiasm of training, the eager and hunger to compete.
"And I like what I feel – a strong bond between the players and I feel a strong club. I like the games, there are a lot of good behaviours and I trust in us as a group.
“This is a big test and it is what we want. Hopefully, it will bring out the best in us. We will do it our way. It's clear what you get when you play Atletico: fighting, experience, and a team with a strong mentality. They are leaders in Spain but we have our qualities.”
Chelsea face Atletico in Bucharest, as a result of Spanish government regulations, and Tuchel admitted: “Clearly it is a disadvantage for Atletico to lose their home ground.”
Chelsea will be without Thiago Silva, who captained Tuchel’s PSG in last season’s final and who has returned to training but who is not yet ready to play, but Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic are back in the squad after missing five and two games respectively.
And Tuchel was adamant it is "business as usual" between him and Callum Hudson-Odoi, the substitute he substituted in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Southampton.
“We decided to speak to him in front of the whole group,” he explained. “Was it the right decision? I don’t know. We spoke as a whole group to not make it bigger than it is because for us it was not a big thing. We had the reaction we wanted. He went back to normal mood, to a good mood.”
__________________________________________________________________
Southampton 1 Chelsea 1: player ratings
-
SOUTHAMPTON RATINGS: Alex McCarthy - 7: Wasn’t until towards end of first half that he was called into serious action to save a Zouma header. Sent wrong way by Mount for penalty. One block to deny Azpilicueta in second half but Spaniard was well offside anyway. For all Chelsea's possession, McCarthy did not have many saves to make. Booked for time wasting. EPA -
Jan Bednarek - 7: Centre-half playing at right-back up against a dangerous combination in Alonso and Werner but should be pleased with his efforts. Important interception at start of second half to break up dangerous Chelsea attack. Getty -
Jannik Vestergaard - 8: Southampton’s key man at the back and, despite constant Chelsea pressure, did not give Abraham a kick in first half. Saw looping header crash off crossbar with 20 minutes left. AFP -
Mohammed Salisu - 7: In at centre-half as Saints were forced to reshuffle defensive line-up and looked solid enough, helping keep Abraham very quiet. Caught in possession after break that sent Chelsea off on dangerous counter but also made a few important blocks and showed great composure when called upon. AFP -
Ryan Bertrand - 6: Left-back playing against former club saw his attacking tendencies restricted until run and cross earned Saints their first corner after nearly 70 minutes. Solid effort defensively. PA -
Moussa Djenepo - 7: Caught in possession in first 10 minutes allowing Chelsea to launch dangerous counter-attack and failed to give Bednarek adequate support early on down the left. Much improved as match wore on. On the receiving end of a couple of nasty challenges by Werner and Kante, amongst others, and will have been battered and bruised in the dressing room afterwards. Some lovely tricks and turns in a lively second-half show. AFP -
James Ward-Prowse - 5: Little chance to show-off his undoubted attacking skills, whether from open play or dead ball. Cynical foul on Mount gave Chelsea free-kick on edge of area that Alonso wasted. AFP -
Oriol Romeu - 6: Another Saint playing against old club in what was his 200th Premier League game but was left for dead by Werner in first few minutes and generally struggled against dominant Chelsea midfield in first 45 minutes. Improved after break. EPA -
Takumi Minamino - 7: Superb feint left Mendy and Azpilicueta on their backsides before calm finish with outside of boot to put Saints ahead completely against the run of play after 33 minutes. Not much else of note from the Liverpool loan man but another goal for his new club. EPA -
Danny Ings - 4: A frustrated and isolated figure up front in first half and would have been surprised as anyone when Southampton went ahead. A striker’s challenge on Mount gifted Chelsea a penalty and the equaliser after break. A rare off day for the striker. EPA -
Nathan Redmond - 6: Like rest of Saints’ team, had not figured as attacking threat before his perfect through-ball put Minamino through for opening goal. A couple of decent surging runs in second half but not at his best. PA -
SUBS: Nathan Tella – (On for Minamino 80’) N/A. EPA -
Che Adams – (On for Ings 85’) N/A. Reuters -
Dan Nlundulu – (On for Redmond 90+3’) N/A. PA -
CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy - 6: First-choice goalkeeper back between the sticks after Kepa’s run-out against Newcastle. First contribution of match was picking himself up off the deck to retrieve ball out of net after Minamino’s goal. Left a flat-footed spectator when Vestergaard’s header hit the bar. AFP -
Cesar Azpilicueta - 6: Left on the deck after committing himself with desperate lunge trying, and failing, to stop Minamino scoring. None of the attacking bursts forward that have characterised his return to the team since Tuchel’s arrival. AP -
Kurt Zouma - 6: One beautiful diagonal ball out from the back to Alonso after 20 minutes and was denied equaliser when McCarthy turned his goal-bound header round the post. Poor positioning and communication with Azpilicueta for Minamino goal. AFP -
Antonio Rudiger - 7: Ambitious strike from 30 metres out straight at McCarthy was only Chelsea’s second shot in opening half hour despite dominating possession. Found Ings, and Southampton's attackers generally, little problem and must be wondering how his team did not win game. Reuters -
Reece James - 6: Chosen at right wingback ahead of Hudson-Odoi and supplied Alonso with great cross in first five minutes that the Spaniard fired wide. Tuchel seemed frustrated with his efforts throughout the game and would blaze great chance way over bar on half-volley after good work by Mount with five minutes left. EPA -
N’Golo Kante - 7: Back in the team straight into the familiar groove in midfield of breaking up opposition attacks but also quick to support Chelsea attacks, particularly in first half. Lucky to escape punishment for poor late challenge on Djenepo though. EPA -
Mateo Kovacic - 6: Dominated centre of midfield with Kante in opening 45, with one stand-out pass down left to Alonso in first half. But was more sloppy in possession as second half went on, giving away a needless corner with one poor touch and was take off with 15 minutes to go. AP -
Marcos Alonso - 7: Volleyed first chance of game wide of target when he should have at least forced a save out of McCarthy – much to frustration of manager Tuchel. Always looking to push forward and link-up with Werner. Booked for tug on Djenepo. Reuters -
Mason Mount - 8: Always busy, always a threat running at Saints defence in first half but Chelsea lacked an attacking spearhead. Moved into more advanced role after Abraham went off at half-time and was excellent from then on. Too quick for Ings to earn Chelsea penalty that he converted confidently himself. The heartbeat of everything positive about Chelsea at St Mary's. PA -
Timo Werner - 5: Showed Romeu a clean pair of heels after lovely turn of pace in first couple of minutes but was sloppy with final ball and another Chelsea player who should have been cautioned for a bad challenge on Djenepo in the first half. Failed to make use of space down left, never looked like scoring and Tuchel will need much more from the German attacker if they want to secure a top-four spot. -
Tammy Abraham - 4: Disappointing afternoon when he failed to trouble Saints backline. Hooked at half-time with what appeared to be an ankle injury, but could easily have been take off solely for his performance. AP -
SUBS: Callum Hudson-Odoi – (On for Abraham 46’) 4: Given a long talk by Tuchel on sideline before coming on but manager was clearly hoping for a lot more from midfield substitute who was brutally taken off himself with 13 minutes to go. Getty -
Hakim Ziyech – (On for Hudson-Odoi 77’) N/A. Getty -
Jorginho – (On for Kovacic 77’) N/A.
__________________________________________________________________
The captain Cesar Azpilicueta added: “Obviously, it is not nice to come on and be subbed after 30 minutes. That is very obvious and the manager made it clear.
"What was important was to see his reaction afterwards. It was a positive reaction. I am sure he will get better and he will get stronger.”
Chelsea will face Luis Suarez, who has a controversial past with them after biting Branislav Ivanovic during his Liverpool days.
Tuchel tried to sign for PSG last year and the German said: “We heard there was the possibility that he is about to leave Barcelona. Who cannot be interested to sign one of the best strikers in world football, in history and present?
"We tried our luck but we did not make it, He chose to stay in Spain. He is a born striker and has a certain mentality that only strikers have to show his will, his intensity and his anger to score, score, score.”
Tuchel insisted he is unlikely to renew his interest in Suarez with Chelsea, adding: “I think he is under contract and it is not worth thinking about.”
Azpilicueta outlined the plan to stop Suarez: “The best way to defend him is to keep him as far as possible from the goal and that is a collective job.”
