Thomas Tuchel wants Blues to be the team everyone wants to avoid
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has said he wants his team to be the side the others want to avoid when the Champions League quarter-final draw takes place this Friday, March 18.
Image credit: PA Images Tuchel applauds his players after their 2-1 defeat of LilleChelsea won 2-1 in Lille on Wednesday evening, securing their place in the pot for the next round with a 4-1 aggregate victory.
Goals from Christian Pulisic in first-half injury time and captain Cesar Azpilicueta in the second half saw Chelsea bounce back after Burak Yilmaz opened the scoring from the penalty spot for the French outfit.
The game took place amid increasing uncertainty about the future of the club following the sanctioning of owner Roman Abramovich by the UK Government last Thursday.
As the game was taking place, more potential bids for the club were being announced.
Despite this, it was a calm performance from the Blues, who stayed in control when they needed to, despite constant hounding by the Lille players.
Speaking after the game, Tuchel said, "I want us to be the team nobody wants to play. That's the role we see ourselves in this last round of eight.
"It's a big step to do it again and again - and that is why we fight for top-four places in maybe the toughest league in the world and we fight now again in the top eight teams [in Europe].
"This brings out the very best in us."
Liverpool and Manchester City make up the English contingent in the last-eight draw, meaning there is a chance there could be an all-English quarter-final.
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Benfica, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal are the other sides in the pot.