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Former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has claimed the club are 'blessed' to have Thomas Tuchel as their manager.
The Spaniard heaped praise on Tuchel following an incredible Champions League quarter-final second leg between the Blues and Real Madrid, in which the English side nearly pulled off an extraordinary comeback.
Having trailed 3-1 after the first leg, Chelsea scored three unanswered goals through Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner to put their side ahead on aggregate.
However, a magical Rodrygo equalizer, followed by a Karim Benzema winner in extra time, eventually knocked the defending champions out of the competition. The Blues were praised for their gutsy performance in a game they largely dominated.
Fabregas took to Twitter to sing the praises of the manager following the classic clash.
Fabregas is considered to be one of the Premier League's greatest-ever creative midfielders, providing 57 assists and scoring 22 times during his 198 appearances for the Blues.
He won two Premier League titles and an FA Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge, and is second on the list of all-time Premier League assist providers, behind only Ryan Giggs.
Tuchel proud of his Chelsea players despite Real Madrid defeat
Since Tuchel's arrival in west London in January 2021, the German has done an excellent job. It peaked during last season's Champions League final when his side beat Manchester City 1-0 in Porto to claim their second European crown.
The 48-year-old has also had to keep his team focused on matters on the pitch, despite endless speculation regarding the club's ownership situation.
After the Madrid defeat, Tuchel expressed the pride he felt for his players, telling Chelsea's website:
"We are very disappointed and very proud at the same time. We played a fantastic match. We deserved what we had. We scored four goals, we had big chances to score more. We were unlucky. We got beaten by pure individual quality and offensive conversion"
Tuchel added:
"We had two mistakes after ball wins, the most crucial moments in games against Real Madrid. We deserved to go through after this performance, but it was not meant to be. You need luck in games like this and it was not on our side."
He further said:
"They did not create a lot at Stamford Bridge, but they took every half chance. You have to reduce your mistakes and we could not reduce it to an absolute minimum over the two legs. But there are no regrets. These are the kind of defeats you can take with pride and accept as a sportsman."
