"What do you expect from me? To smile?" - Tuchel snaps at reporter after Chelsea's defeat against Real Madrid
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel snapped back angrily at a reporter during his post-match presser following his side's disappointing defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
Karim Benzema's hat-trick did the damage with only a Kai Havertz goal as consolation for the Blues in the 3-1 defeat.
It was a difficult game for the German manager to watch as defensive errors coinciding with a horror mistake by Edouard Mendy led to Benzema blowing the west London side away.
The Chelsea boss was asked why he was in low spirits following the game to which he replied (via MirrorSport):
"What do you expect from me? To stand here and smile? Of course, I am down."
Tuchel did comment on the game and deemed the first-half performance of his team to be the worst he has seen during his tenure at Stamford Bridge. He added:
"It is a heavy loss. It was one of the worst first halves that I saw from us here at Stamford Bridge. Individually and as a team it was by far not enough. It was far from our standards and then you lose games. Passing, where we passed, how we passed when we passed, when we attacked, the ball possession game... first half was so from any standards that we set ourselves that we cannot complain when we lose."
"If we keep on playing like this we will lose in Southampton and then we don't need to think about the Bernabéu - we will get hammered in Bernabéu."
Thomas Tuchel isn't mincing his words this evening 😡
🎙 @TheDesKelly | #UCL https://t.co/vMo33viXQz
A difficult time for Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea
The German manager has endured a problematic period in west London in recent months.
Amidst the sanctioning of club owner Roman Abramovich, Tuchel has been tasked with trying to get his side to ignore the off-the-field drama and concentrate on their football.
Reporters have come at him with questions over his future, the club's status and reputation, but he has dealt with those queries admirably.
🗣 "There are so many people out there helping in war zones. There are so many more important jobs out there than being a football coach, it makes me feel uncomfortable, to name it a problem, we are still very privileged."
Thomas Tuchel on Chelsea's sanctions https://t.co/0LiXCpgzqP
But his Chelsea team have started to nosedive. Saturday's hugely demoralising 4-1 defeat to their London neighbors Brentford also raised serious concern.
The loss to Madrid on Wednesday evening has only made matters worse in what has been a toxic period for Tuchel and Chelsea.
The former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) manager has always stated his loyalty to the Blues. But they are out-of-form and possibly, going through their worst passage of the season.
Their attention now turns to Saturday when they head to St Mary's Stadium to face Southampton, looking to get back on track.
Tuchel commented on the need to concentrate on the game with the Saints, before looking ahead to the reverse leg with Madrid at the Bernabeu next week.
"It is crucial that we go to Southampton. If we keep playing like this we will lose at Southampton and then we will get hammered at Bernabeu."
Tuchel will need to improve the mood around Stamford Bridge after such a huge setback. Making a comeback in this quarter-final tie would be a herculean task.