Tuchel wolfed down chocolate to help him stay awake at home.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admits he is struggling to get over the manner of their home defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinal.
Ancelotti’s side edged past the reigning winners 3-1 at Stamford Bridge to put Tuchel in trouble. Real Madrid have almost sealed the semifinal spot by taking two goals lead.
Tuchel wolfed down chocolate to help him stay awake at home as he re-watched the quarter-final first-leg defeat on Wednesday night. It only made him more angry and he called his players in for a talking-to on Thursday.
The Chelsea manager said: “To stay angry overnight is unusual. Sometimes I’m angry during a match or at half-time. After a game I normally decide not to speak too much if I’m not happy. But the feeling lasted. I watched the match again and got angry at home in the middle of the night, and the next morning I watched it again – and got angry again.
“I was not that angry – the dog was safe. But the amount of chocolate I needed to go through the match again was immense. At some point you have to stop and take a walk into the kitchen and calm down. I got some sleep, but it was late.
“It was not a discussion meeting. I gave my point of view – behind closed doors, where everybody can take criticism. We don’t point fingers, but we were not at our best level. That’s why we were angry. For me it is best to express it and not hide, be honest with the team. It is necessary that the players can handle it if the manager is angry.”
After playing Southampton, Chelsea will travel to the Spanish capital next week to overturn the first-leg defeat which looks slightly tough.
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