Following confirmation that our Champions League away tie against Atletico Madrid will be played in Bucharest, Thomas Tuchel acknowledged the Spaniards would be disappointed to lose home advantage but insisted they would still be formidable opponents.
It was announced on Wednesday that the first leg of the Round of 16 contest, scheduled for Tuesday 23 February, would be switched from Madrid to the Romanian capital. The return is set to take place three weeks later at Stamford Bridge.
While the late change would inevitably require some adaptation from both clubs, Tuchel insisted his focus was on making sure the Chelsea players were in the best condition for what promises to be an intriguing tie.
‘I knew for some days that this was a possibility but my job is to adapt,’ he said. ‘We have to play there so now it’s the moment to adapt our travel routine and our schedule, the day before and the day after, and to look for solutions.
‘There is no time for doubting the decision or reflecting on it. We saw it coming so now we will deal with the consequences and try to get the best result.’
There has been some suggestion that Atletico, five points clear at the top of La Liga with two games in hand, would be disadvantaged by the change of venue. While Tuchel can understand the frustration, he also warned that Diego Simeone’s side would be tough challengers wherever they played.
‘They don’t have the home advantage so I can understand their feeling,’ our German head coach continued. ‘But did I have anything to do with it? No. Was it our decision? No. From now on we can have no more reflections about that.
‘We don’t doubt that they will be ready 100 per cent in Bucharest to fight against us and it’s our duty to be ready to play them in 12 days.’
Before that European knockout tie gets underway, Tuchel takes his team to Barnsley tonight looking to secure a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals. The world’s oldest national football competition retains a reverence that transcends borders and age groups, as the 47-year-old reflected on his own childhood memories of watching on from afar.
‘I remember there was this huge stadium at Wembley, this famous name and this pretty cup,’ he recalled. ‘Maybe we played out in the garden when we saw the pictures from these finals.
‘To win cups and to play in cup competitions is something all supporters love and all players love because everything is possible in the 90 minutes of football. It has its surprises and you feel this tension in knockout games. This is the tension that you can only feel in cup games and the closer you come, the more it grows.’