After Champions League loss to Real Madrid, Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea are no longer in contention

As the Spanish side grabbed complete control of the quarter-final encounter, a mistake by the Chelsea goalie early in the second half allowed Karim Benzema to clinch a magnificent hat-trick.

After Shipwrecked Chelsea’s Champions League dreams were dealt a significant blow by Real Madrid, Edouard Mendy has been likened unflatteringly to Loris Karius, with the unproductive Christian Pulisic also singled out for blame.

Real Madrid won the Champions League quarter-final first leg 3-1 at Chelsea; only one team in the competition’s history has overturned a two-goal lead in the first leg at home; Thomas Tuchel thinks Chelsea’s record is “alarming”

The reigning European champions must overturn a two-goal deficit in their return to the Bernabeu next week to have any chance of defending their title. Karim Benzema scored two spectacular first-half headers and punished Edouard Mendy’s error to put Real in command after his hat-trick in consecutive Champions League appearances.

Chelsea’s chances of reaching the semi-finals are slim, with only one of the previous 43 teams trailing by two or more goals in a Champions League knockout encounter having overcome such a deficit away from home in the competition’s history.

When asked if the tie was still alive, Chelsea manager Tuchel replied: “Is this [tie] alive today as a result of this performance? No, not for the time being.

“We have to find ourselves again, I don’t know where we have been since the international break. Tonight was a repetition of the second half against Brentford in a quarter-final against Real Madrid. Five days, seven goals conceded. I don’t think there is a deeper reason or it. It’s alarming.

“With everything the game demands, you cannot expect a result from this kind of performance. We were so far off our level, tactically, individually, in shape, in challenges. We tried to play in a new formation and killed the game off with a big mistake.

Tuchel believes the manner in which Chelsea responds in Saturday’s Premier League trip to Southampton, which currently consumes his mind, will be important if they are to pull off an implausible turnaround in the second leg at the Bernabeu next week.