Thomas Tuchel admits Chelsea “escaped” with a win against Porto, but hailed his side’s response to their stunning defeat to West Brom at the weekend.
A 2-0 win against Porto has pushed his side to the brink of the Champions League semi-finals after goals from Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell put them in complete control of the last-eight tie in Seville.
Tuchel was honest enough to admit that Chelsea were tested to the limit by the Portuguese giants, but was heartened by the spirit of his squad after the 5-2 loss to West Brom.
“We made a few good attacks and got two good goals today, and it was hard for us to create touches in the box, find the right rhythm for a long time,” said Tuchel. “Overall we escaped with a very, very good result.”
Tuchel was desperate to see his side bounce back after suffering the first defeat of his reign.
He added: “We had a lot of good results in a row, so we had a very bad result and our first loss on Saturday. It was a chance to bounce back and show a reaction so it was our first loss together and the first reaction that we showed.
“It was a tough match because Porto was very, very strong. We suffered a bit because I felt us a little bit tense and not precise enough, free enough or courageous enough during the first half, so life was hard for us because Porto showed a lot of quality.
“We absolutely accepted it and we needed a bit of luck to escape with a 2-0 and a clean sheet, but after conceding last Saturday and losing in such a strange game.
“The best way would be to escape and produce a clean sheet straight away and this makes this result very precious.”
