Head coach Thomas Tuchel has acknowledged that he has been unsure how to process Chelsea's Champions League exit to Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, Chelsea produced arguably their best performance of the campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu, going 3-0 ahead on the night and moving in front on aggregate before Real fought back to progress through to the semi-finals.
While Chelsea were eliminated 5-4 on aggregate, the Blues prevailed 3-2 on the night, and Tuchel has suggested that he has taken the positives from the level of his team's performance.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Tuchel said: "From confidence wise, I think it is a huge boost, but it is still a disappointment to go out of Champions League at quarter-final. Not a big drama, but a big disappointment because we feel that we could be one of the four teams in semi-final.
"That it a weird feeling because as you mention, we had a huge task to go to Madrid and need to win by a minimum of two goals to make it to extra time, and we were three goals ahead. In a knockout game in Bernabeu, this was a fantastic performance and stays like this, but still it tastes bitter because we are out of Champions League."
Chelsea will attempt to keep their hopes of a third piece of silverware for the season alive when they face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday afternoon.
