Thomas Tuchel says he wants Chelsea to be the side that everyone aims to avoid heading into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Chelsea are into the Champions League quarter-finals after a 2-1 win over Lille in France.
The Blues were ahead 2-0 after the first leg and Lille responded quickly with the opening goal of the match after 38 minutes.
Turkish veteran Burak Yilmaz rifled past Edouard Mendy from the penalty spot after the referee pinged Jorginho for a handball after consultation with VAR.
But the reigning European champions responded three minutes into first-half stoppage time through Christian Pulisic.
Jorginho’s clever pass found the pacy American behind the Lille defence and Pulisic finished off the neat play with a superb finish into the corner of the net from a tight angle.
The victory was completed with just over 15 minutes remaining thanks to a close-range goal from captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
The head coach also heaped praise on skipper Azpilicueta, whose last Champions League goal also came against Lille back in December 2019.
“I want us to be the team nobody wants to play,” Tuchel said. “That’s the role we want to see ourselves in this last eight.
“[Azpilicueta] is maybe the perfect example to describe a person as a leader. He is doing it in good times and bad times, if he is a regular starter or not.
“If he is playing a wing-back, which is maybe not his best position, he is there. We do not need extra, extra at the moment; we just need reliable teamwork and reliable spirit.
“I don’t know if Azpi is talking to the players; I just know he is doing what he normally does.”
Chelsea are back in action on Sunday, when they travel to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The build-up to the tie was dominated by the club requesting that home supporters also be blocked from attending the Riverside, after restrictions imposed following the sanctioning of owner Roman Abramovich rendered them unable to sell any tickets beyond the 600 already sold from their away allocation.
The Blues subsequently withdrew the request, which had been met with widespread ridicule and opposition, with Tuchel also welcoming that decision.
“We love to play in front of spectators and I don’t think the spectators of our opponents should suffer from the consequences,” he added. “We love to play in front of spectators.
“Me and the team were not involved in this decision. We were happy it was withdrawn.”
Drastic sanctions were placed on Chelsea last week due to owner Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s ties following his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Blues blocked out the off-field distraction by beating Lille on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
On playing on despite the sanctions: “Chelsea has this kind of culture. What I found from day one is this football-first mentality.
“This culture is already installed and this helps us when times are difficult … I’m just a part of this. I feels good that we can still produce results, I’m very proud.
“It’s a huge step to be in the last right again and we’re excited to be in the draw.”
