Thomas Tuchel hailed his “special team” after Chelsea’s reign as European champions came to an agonising end, with his task now to lift his players for a crucial FA Cup semi-final this weekend.
The Blues had one foot in the Champions League semi-finals at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday after staging a stunning comeback to wipe out Madrid’s 3-1 lead from the first leg of the last-eight tie.
Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner put the reigning European champions on the brink of an historic victory.
But Real’s veteran midfielder Luka Modric produced a moment of magic to set up Rodrygo, and Karim Benzema headed in the winner, meaning the 13-time European champions progressed 5-4 on aggregate after extra-time.