Thomas Tuchel has insisted that being favourites for their Champions League quarter-final against Porto will not help his Chelsea side.
Chelsea booked their place in the quarter-finals thanks to a comfortable 3-0 aggregate victory over Atletico Madrid. The Blues won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the second leg to advance.
The draw for the last eight took place took place on Friday and Chelsea have been handed a tie with Porto. The Portuguese side beat Juventus on away goals to go through.
FEATURE: Alexander-Arnold and five others on Southgate’s s**tlist…
Tuchel told reporters on Friday, as cited by BBC Sport, that Chelsea have a lot of “self-confidence” at the moment:
“We are happy we are playing an international team and not an English team because Champions League is about that and I prefer to play against teams from other countries. The second leg is at home which feels good to start with an away game and have a slight advantage to finish at home.
“You can ask in Turin if it helps to be favourites, it does not. We are self-confident and self-confidence is strongly connected with our performances and we are confident we face a strong opponent with all the respect.
“Now that we’re in quarter-final is thinking about winning it and reaching the semi-finals and we are confident enough that we see our chances.”
Thiago Silva missed the second leg with Atletico Madrid through injury. Tuchel has confirmed that they will not risk the defender against Sheffield United in the FA Cup on Sunday.
The Blues boss said that he and the defender have a “fantastic partnership” which dates back to their time at PSG:
“I have known Thiago Silva for many years – we had a fantastic partnership at Paris St-Germain and he’s a reliable captain for me as a coach. Once he decides he is part of a team he is 100% part of the team and very professional.
“If we want to have special results and special moments we need to play with a special atmosphere. To create an atmosphere like this you can rely on Thiago – he sees himself as a team player and lives for the team he plays in.”
The post Tuchel warns Chelsea against complacency against Porto appeared first on Football365.