Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel displeased with referee after Real Madrid loss

Real Madrid came out the right side of thrilling Champions League tie on Tuesday night, beating Chelsea 5-4 on aggregate after extra time.

The atmosphere at the Santiago Bernabeu was electric by the end of the match, as Los Blancos added to their Champions League mythology with another late come back.

At 3-0 down, Madrid were down and it did seem as if they were going out. Chelsea had outplayed the home side for most of the match and could have stolen the match back from Real Madrid after conceding, with a series of players missing late chances.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel believed that the referee had something to do with it too. Referee Szymon Marciniak disallowed a Marcos Alonso goal, albeit correctly, but Tuchel was not happy with his behaviour, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

“When you and see the referee smiling and laughing with the other manager, it’s bad moment. I told him so.”

The German tactician wasn’t merely dissatisfied with the optics though. The Guardian reported Tuchel’s thoughts regarding Marciniak’s performance too.

“It’s not only today; it was like this in the first leg… Maybe I get problems [if I talk]. If you play against Real Madrid, you can maybe expect that not everybody has the courage.”

“I told him I am super disappointed that he doesn’t come and check [the footage of the handball] on his own. You should stay the boss and not give the decision to someone sitting in a chair, isolated from the atmosphere.”

Tuchel then went back to reference the significance that it was Real Madrid who they were playing a second time.

“Maybe it is too much to ask for in matches like this against this opponent. Listen, we had it in our hands and we were not lucky enough.”

Tags Carlo Ancelotti Chelsea Real Madrid Thomas Tuchel
La Liga - Club News