Chelsea boss ThomasTuchel admits he would prefer to face Real Madrid rather than Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals after Chelsea reached the last four for the first time since 2014.
Chelsea were beaten by Porto on the night in the home leg of their quarter-final in Seville, Mehdi Taremi’s scoring a stunning injury time overhead kick for Sergio Conceicao’s side.
But Tuchel’s men had done the hard work in the first leg, winning 2-0 in the away game which was also staged in Seville to render Porto’s late goal irrelevant.
Chelsea will now face the winners of the Liverpool and Madrid tie, which the Spaniards lead 3-1 going into Wednesday’s second leg at Anfield.
Tuchel said: “In general I like not to play against teams from your same league in the Champions League as it gives more of a feeling of a European competition but that is the only thing. The game is far from over but I will watch it for sure.
“Everything is possible. Liverpool are very strong at home so we take what we get. It is a good situation for us.’
Hailing Chelsea’s progress, Tuchel said: “The semi-finals is a big achievement. It’s a big step to be in the semi-final.
“We’re not used to being there but once you are there you play for the final.’
While Tuchel admitted the game was not a spectacle, Chelsea produced a professional display to keep Porto at arms’ length until it was too late for them to mount a comeback that took the game to extra time.
Tuchel said: ‘It is also part of the performance to not let your opponent perform.
“Today was the day to hang in and show all the effort, all the intensity, all the team spirit, that’s needed if you don’t have the experience, if you have a young team, it’s the moment to be together.
“We talked about what we needed to do if you feel nervous and that is to use your body, work hard and make yourself sweat. This is what we did.’
