Thomas Tuchel has decided not to start Jorginho for Chelsea’s difficult Champions League clash against Real Madrid.
The 30-year-old Italian-Brazilian midfielder was benched for the Blues’ last two Premier League matches against Brentford and Southampton, both of which fell after Italy’s disastrous World Cup play-off loss to North Macedonia. Jorginho was one of the most criticised players following the defeat, with many fans calling for him to retire from international duty.
As announced by Chelsea this evening, Jorginho will not start against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu tonight, leaving him on the sidelines as the Blues work to overcome their 3-1 aggregate disadvantage.
The 30-year-old Jorginho, who is contracted to Chelsea until 2023, has made 39 appearances across all competitions so far this season, for a total of 2946 minutes. In that time, he’s scored nine goals and provided four assists.
The Italian-Brazilian fatally missed two penalties in two separate World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland, allowing them to finish top of the group as both matches finished in draws.
Starting line-ups for Real Madrid vs. Chelsea:
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Nacho, Alaba, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius. Allenatore: Carlo Ancelotti.
Chelsea: Mendy; James, Rudiger, Silva, Alonso; Kanté, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek; Havertz, Werner, Mount
Your Blues in Madrid… 📋#UCL pic.twitter.com/IkiXyEw95z
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 12, 2022
Advantage Chelsea…even more if its goes to PKs