'It is anyone's competition': Tuchel bullish about youthful Chelsea's Champions League prospects

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel said the Champions League is "anyone's competition" to win after his side reached the semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Porto.

Porto won the second leg 1-0 on Tuesday but it was not enough to overturn Chelsea's 2-0 first-leg victory.

Chelsea will play either Liverpool or Real Madrid in the semi-final, while Paris Saint-Germain will meet either Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund.

As Chelsea prepare for their eighth Champions League semi-final – the most of any English club – Tuchel told reporters: "We're in the competition and in the semi-final it is anyone's competition.

"In the semi-final, you need players fit, momentum, luck in the games.

The German added: "It is a very big achievement. You see when Chelsea was last in the semi-final.

"We are not used to being there. Once you are there, you play for the final. This is clear."

"?? ???????? ??? ?????!" Tuchel delighted with the professionalism the Blues showed against Porto in the @ChampionsLeague.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 13, 2021

Chelsea will be appearing in their first Champions League semi-final since 2013-14 with a younger brigade of players compared to their upcoming opponents.

"When you look on the scoresheet last week, you saw two players [Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell] who scored their first goals in the competition," Tuchel said.

"When you look at Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, [Karim] Benzema or [Mohamed] Salah score, it is their 50th or 100th goal or something. We arrived with a very young team.

"We want a young team to turn it around. What a young team can do it run, fight and hang in there. It is an adventure for them. It is a big step to be here."