Chelsea's German head coach Thomas Tuchel reacts during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Chelsea at the Arena Nationala stadium in Bucharest on February 23, 2021. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)
According to ESPN, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has admitted that losing against Manchester United with PSG in the Champions League left him in a “very dark place”.
It was an iconic Champions League clash back in March 2019 that saw United overcome a 2-0 first-leg deficit to win the game in the second leg with a stoppage-time penalty from Marcus Rashford.
Ahead of another clash against United albeit with Chelsea, Tuchel opened up about what he went through after that shocking defeat.
“I can be very honest with you, after that match, I was two days in a very dark place. I can tell you I was not able to speak to anybody or able to think about anything else than this defeat. That was maybe the worst defeat that I experienced because it came from nowhere and was in a way, in circumstances where it arrived, two days a dark place for a coach to be at.
“It was in the circumstances of this game, how we arrived there, the pressure around the club concerning the round of 16, the history before and the way the result in the first match and the way the second match went, the VAR decision in the last minute.”
However, Tuchel came back stronger in the last season with PSG as his side went all the way into the finals, only falling to Bayern Munich by a goal.
“That can hurt but the reward was one year later, almost the perfect reward, when we arrived for the first time in the final. We came a long way for that. In some moments you face adversity. It is often sad but it makes you stronger.”
After falling out with the Parisians, Tuchel was offered the Chelsea job and has guided the club to a stable position.
Nonetheless, Tuchel will get another shot at redemption against Manchester United when his side welcome the Red Devils during the weekend. A win and three points could go a long way in easing some of those past memories against them.
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