Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says Stamford Bridge crowd must ‘be better’ against Real Madrid

Thomas Tuchel has criticised the Stamford Bridge crowd and called for the Chelsea fans “to be better” when they host Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.

There was a flat atmosphere at the Bridge as the Blues suffered a 4-1 defeat to west London rivals Brentford on Saturday, and Tuchel says his side will need a twelfth man in the rematch of last season’s semi-final.

“We absolutely need it,” the Chelsea head coach said. “We need to be better on the pitch – we’re the first to admit it – but we need the crowd to be better. We need everybody on the front foot. It’s a big match, quarter-finals, against a big opponent. It’s a big occasion. I think that normally we have these kinds of atmospheres in the evening games and big matches throughout this season.

“Spectators in the Champions League matches gave us a huge push in terms of atmosphere and energy. We need it. It’s crucial in these games. We feel it in every away game when we play to win: Malmo, Saint Petersburg, Lille. It’s super hard and it’s much harder to play against the spectators as well. We will face it next week in Madrid, so everybody needs to be on the top level. We have to set the spark but everybody needs to arrive tomorrow ready to support.”

Tuchel admitted his side will be aiming to “prove a point” after the shock loss to the Bees, which leaves them looking over their shoulders at chasing rivals Tottenham and Arsenal.

“We are out there to prove a point anyway and to bounce back from Saturday’s performance and to play in the right way, the way we want to play,” he said. “We want to by physical, intense, focused and to be at our very best because this is what we need. We overcame Real Madrid last season but that