'Two months ago I'd have laughed' - reaction to Chelsea reaching Champions League final

It was so upsetting for Chelsea fans to see Frank Lampard go. It hurt so much. But this guy has done a genius job.

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane to Movistar: "We can say that yes, they deserved the win. We fought and tried but they deserved to win and go through.

"The players who have played tonight were fit to play. I'm proud of my boys: we tried, we have got this far – just one game from the final. Chelsea played a great match and have gone through and we have to say well done to them.

"We needed to be better going forward. We didn't have any clear chances, they made a number of them and that's football. But as I've said, I'm very proud of my boys. Now we rest and think of the Liga.

"Of course we're not happy. When you lose a semi-final you can't be happy and that's normal. It's tough to take, but tomorrow we'll be back out on the training pitch ready to go again."

Even though Manchester City can win the Premier League title against Chelsea on Saturday, it's a far bigger game for Chelsea.

This could be the biggest season in Chelsea's entire history. They could win both Champions Leagues - male and female - win the FA Cup and finish in the top four.

On the other hand they could win absolutely nothing and they could blow it and miss out on the top four - and miss out on the Champions League next season.

This game against Manchester City at the weekend, Chelsea cannot take their foot off the gas.

High praise for Chelsea's Mason Mount and Man City's Phil Foden from former Liverpool striker Michael Owen on BT Sport.

"I think Foden and Mount are two of the best players in the world right now," Owen said. "It's so exciting to watch their progress. I can't wait for the final and the Euros in the summer.

"I think the two of them are going to get right to the top - they are up there with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe already.

"Certainly Foden, he could develop into one of the best players England has ever seen."

Quite clearly Thomas Tuchel has known about the capabilities of the players that were under-performing. Kai Havertz was one of them and Timo Werner was one of them.

If you have got a team not giving away goals it's amazing how wonderfully confident you get very, very quickly.

Chelsea forward Timo Werner, speaking to BT Sport: "The last 10 minutes I was screaming a lot. I had no voice. When we started with the manager we were 10th in the league and now we reach everything - on the road to the top four, we can win the Champions League and the FA Cup. Our team is incredible. How we control the rhythm against a team with world-class players. We are young but not stupid to make easy mistakes.

"I had to wait a long time for the ball to come down. It took hours. It was an easy goal. But the chances we create was very good. In the end, it was not easy to play against Real Madrid but we did it very well."

Niche stat time, courtesy of Gracenote...

The 2020/21 final between Chelsea and Manchester City will be the first Champions Cup/Champions League final between two clubs with blue as the club's home shirt colour.

It was a brilliantly entertaining game. You look over the period of the two ties, Chelsea could have scored seven or eight. It was extraordinary impressive from Chelsea and the rate at which they are maturing has really shocked me.

If you had told me two months ago they would be in a Champions League final I'd have laughed at you.

Pep Guardiola will make a lot of changes this weekend for Manchester City's Premier League game with Chelsea. Thomas Tuchel will have to see what the recovery is like after tonight. I would imagine every single Chelsea player will come in tomorrow wanting to start against City on Saturday. When you have had a win like you have had tonight, you're not feeling any knocks. The competition for places is exceptional.

Chelsea against Manchester City will be the fifth European final between two English clubs, after the 1971/72 UEFA Cup (Tottenham Hotspur beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 on aggregate), the 2007/08 Champions League (Manchester United beat Chelsea 1-1, 6-5 on penalties), the 2018/19 Europa League (Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1) and the 2018/19 Champions League (Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotpsur 2-0).

Thomas Tuchel has improved Chelsea's players at a quicker rate than I would have ever expected. I cannot believe the speed of the improvement. It was a beautiful night watching them. I'm so happy there are two English teams in the Champions League final.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, speaking to BT Sport: "They deserve to win. First off it's difficult because Real had a lot of possession and they made us suffer, but then we were dangerous with counter-attacks and never lost the hunger, never lost their desire to defend.

"Second half was even better, the structure to defend and in the second half, we could've scored much earlier - I could've scored more. It's a fantastic achievement and big congratulations to the team.

"Real Madrid, of course, are always dangerous. they can turn nothing into goals. So, to hang in there, even when you have chances and miss them, they never lost concentration, focus, and a positive energy on the pitch. This was a huge performance."

On goalkeeper Edouard Mendy: "Even against Fulham, it was the same: he was solid and so, so strong, strong hands, intelligence and he kept a clean sheet again."

On reaching another Champions League final: "I'm very happy that we've achieved this. I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to live my life in football and this passion as a profession. So grateful to do it on this level and to get to another final, I'm very grateful for that."

On how the final with Manchester City will play out: "Ask me four days before the final! It's too early. There can be injured players, there can be players out a form. We need to wait and hopefully, we arrive with the whole squad, because it's not done yet. We want to go all the way and we arrived in this competition to win."

It was almost the perfect performance from Chelsea. They had 15 attempts and five on target. It felt a lot more than that. They will relish playing Manchester City in the final. They have got their number at the minute.

This weekend's game between the two clubs in the Premier League will be interesting. City are still favourites for the Champions League but if you had asked City fans who they had wanted in the final, a lot will have gone for Real Madrid. It shows you they might be a little bit afraid of this Chelsea side and the way Thomas Tuchel sets them up.

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta, speaking to BT Sport: "We had a tough opponent but the team performed really well and we scored two goals.

"We can't forget the saves from Edouard Mendy in the first half. The second half we were clearly better and we had a few chances to score more goals - but we fought really hard.

"This campaign in the Champions League we have played two Spanish teams, but the most important thing is we are in the final. There is one more step and we will try to win, of course.

"We have a fantastic squad, everybody pushes hard in training, to be together, to fight for everyone and to help each other. This is massive and we have created a strong group. We have plenty of things to fight for.

On facing fellow Premier League side Manchester City: It's a Champions League final! we have played them lots of times but it's the Champions League final. We believe in ourselves, we know we have to work hard but we are ready for it."

I was coming to the game tonight wondering what kind of game we would see. I was convinced it was going to be a chess match. I couldn't have been more wrong. Chelsea were just brilliant and could have won by five or six goals.

Phil Foden last night, Mason Mount tonight.

Good luck picking that team for the Euros, Gareth.