Rio Ferdinand agrees with Thomas Tuchel that it would be better for Chelsea to get Real Madrid in a Champions League semi-final than Liverpool.
The Blues sealed their progression into the final four of the competition after a 2-1 aggregate win over Porto, with a late goal on Tuesday night handing Porto a 1-0 win in the second leg.
Tuchel’s side are joined in the penultimate stage of the competition by his former club Paris Saint-Germain, who knocked Bayern Munich out on away goals.
In the two remaining quarter-finals, Liverpool host Real Madrid trailing 3-1 on aggregate from the first leg but carrying an important away goal, while Manchester City travel to face Borussia Dortmund with a 2-1 win at home last time out.
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Tuchel said that he would prefer not to play against an English team in the next stage, stating that a match against foreign competitors gives it a more European feeling.
“In general I like not to play against teams from your same league in the Champions League as it gives more of a feeling of a European competition but that is the only thing,” Tuchel said. “The game is far from over but I will watch it for sure.
“Everything is possible. Liverpool are very strong at home so we take what we get. It is a good situation for us.”
Ferdinand says he agreed with Tuchel, and that facing a team from your own country in the Champions League represents a different type of pressure.
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“We played against Joe Cole’s Chelsea team and the pressure is just different,” Ferdinand said on BT Sport. “It’s amped up, you’re playing against people you know. It’s in your country.
“When you lose to Barcelona, you go away and you’re reminding yourself of it, but the media and the fans aren’t, whereas if we lose to an English team – anywhere you go, it’s going to be there in your face year-in, year-out. Thirty years down the line, you’ll keep seeing it.
“I agree with [Tuchel], when you play against a team from somewhere else, it feels like a European tie.”