Thomas Tuchel makes shock referee admission minutes after disappointing defeat to Real Madrid

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel saw his side’s defence of their Champions League title come to a painful end in Madrid, despite a gallant display.

The English side trailed Real Madrid 3-1 from the first leg but got off to the perfect start at the Bernabeu after Mason Mount drilled home the opener early the game.

Antonio Rudiger then powered home a header to draw Chelsea level on aggregate and set up an epic encounter in Madrid.

The often maligned Timo Werner reminded everyone of his qualities after calmly taking out two Madrid players, before slotting home the third goal from an acute angle to put Chelsea in front for the first time in the tie with 15 minutes to go.

But it wasn’t to be, after Luka Modric, with the outside of his foot, picked out substitute Rodrygo to score for Real Madrid and take the game into extra-time.

Karim Benzema, a hat-trick hero from the first leg, then combined with Vini Junior to score Madrid’s second to send the 13-time Champions League winners to the semi-final ahead of current holders Chelsea.

The Blues had a goal chalked off after replays showed Marco Alonso’s hand hit the ball seconds before he sent in a powerful drive to beat Thibaut Courtois in post for Madrid.

There were also various 50-50 calls that went in favour of Madrid, and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel revealed he caught the referee smiling at Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti after the final whistle which he found quite disappointing.

The Chelsea manager said: “I was disappointed that the referee had a good time with my colleague, Carlo Ancelotti.

“I know Carlo is a gentleman and a nice guy, but when I wanted to go and say thank you for the match, I saw him smiling and laughing loudly with the opponents’ coach.

“I think this is the very, very wrong time to do this after a final whistle and 126 minutes where one team gave all their hearts and fought until the last drop.

“You go and see the referee smiling and laughing with the other coach. I think it is very, very bad timing. I told him this, and that’s it.”

Chelsea will have little title recover from losing to Real Madrid, as they will have to quickly prepare for the FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley on Sunday.

The game has taken on added significance as it remains their only hope of winning a trophy before the end of the season.