Thomas Tuchel clarifies strange Ruben Loftus-Cheek decision in FA Cup final vs Liverpool
Thomas Tuchel explained that he substituted Ruben Loftus-Cheek just to prepare for the upcoming penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium against Liverpool.
Thomas Tuchel admitted that he substituted Ruben Loftus-Cheek just to prepare for the upcoming penalty shootout against Liverpool at Wembley. The German coach considered that Ross Barkley was better prepared for the situation at hand.
Nothing could separate Chelsea and Liverpool but sudden death in a penalty shootout. Both teams went scoreless in regulation and extra time before m
Both teams went goalless in regulation and extra time before misses from Cesar Azpilicueta and Sadio Mane pushed penalties beyond the five selected takers.
Mason Mount missed a critical penalty for the Blues, and Kosta Tsimikas’ strike gave Liverpool the FA Cup. Chelsea had once again failed at the final hurdle.
Loftus-Cheek’s on the game was limited because he was only introduced in the second period of extra time against the Reds.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Cobham product was unable to complete the final 15 minutes and was substituted by the rarely seen Barkley with only minutes remained before penalties.
Tuchel said: “No [he was not injured] that was purely for penalties. Ruben doesn’t have a good history, and Ross has. So it was down to the penalties.”
While the margins were small on the day, and Chelsea has drawn within 90 minutes of Liverpool on all four times this season, the Reds have challenged Man City for the Premier League championship and reached the Champions League final this season.
The Blues manager believes Jurgen Klopp’s squad depth has ensured the gap thus far.
Tuchel added: “We proved four times this season that we can produce peak performances to compete with them at this kind of level. All the results were deserved and could’ve gone our way or their way.
“The difference for me throughout the season is they can do it Wednesday-Saturday, Wednesday-Saturday. They arrived with a big squad, everybody but Fabinho, in a good rhythm. We had many players out and N’Golo with one training session and Mateo playing with an ankle that I didn’t know it was possible to fit into a shoe. This is where the gap comes from.”
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Thomas Tuchel clarifies strange Ruben Loftus-Cheek decision in FA Cup final vs Liverpool
