Thomas Tuchel has opened up on penalty call against Cesar Azpilicueta in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Hakim Ziyech’s first-half opener and Emerson Palmieri’s late effort secured a 3-0 aggregate win for Thomas Tuchel’s side
But Chelsea were lucky not to finish the game with 10 men.
Azpilicueta under hit a backpass towards his goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and then tugged Atletico’s Yannick Carassco’s waist to stop him from chasing the ball but the officials overlooked and no penalty was awarded.
Pundits blamed the match officials for not recommending VAR check on the incident and believe the Spain defender should have sent and penalty awarded Atletico.
Asked about the incident after the match, Tuchel said “Is it a penalty? (Azpilicueta foul) Azpi got a bit frightened because his ball was short, I did not see it but was a bit frightened.”
His reply affirmed that the Blues were lucky to have gotten away with that decision.
Revealing his tactics for the game, the German added, “We know if we cannot find solutions with offensive play we can rely on our physical game.
“We were absolutely not afraid to put it on a physical level if we don’t get offensive solutions.
“We enjoyed the battle. The guys were totally on and sharp, we were super hungry to go through.
“Quarter-final means there’s only four games – it’s a big step and feels excellent.”
