Tuchel gives two reasons for leaving out Pulisic against Real

Thomas Tuchel suggested he chose Kai Havertz over Christian Pulisic for the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid because of the German’s ability to keep the ball and his greater aerial presence at set-pieces.

Chelsea boss Tuchel sympathised with Pulisic after leaving him out at Stamford Bridge but hinted that the American might still have a role to play.

Tuchel told BT Sport: “Christian got a bad message today, unfortunately, but I am pretty sure we need more than 11 players to sneak through and it is good to have Christian from the bench.

“Kai gives us a little bit of height against the set-pieces and maybe in the fast attacks he can keep the ball.”

Havertz getting the nod over Pulisic was Tuchel’s only change to the starting line-up from the 1-1 first-leg draw.