Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta has fired a warning to Liverpool ahead of the FA Cup final and insisted he is desperate to get his ‘hands on the trophy’.
Liverpool head to Wembley in search of their eighth FA Cup victory as they continue their quest for an unprecedented quadruple. Chelsea are in their third successive final in the competition having lost to Leicester City and Arsenal in 2021 and 2020 respectively.
Despite being 16 points clear of their opponents in the league, it won’t be easy for Liverpool, having not beaten Chelsea in normal time this season on three separate occasions. In both Premier League games they drew - 1-1 against at Anfield despite having a one-man advantage for the whole of the second half, and 2-2 at Stamford Bridge. Similarly, the Carabao Cup final was anything but your classic 0-0. Chelsea had three goals ruled out for offside while Liverpool had one before Kepa Arrizabalaga’s missed penalty handed the Reds an 11-10 spot-kick success.
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And Azpilicueta is determined to use the Carabao Cup final disappointment as motivation on Saturday. “When you lose you want to get back and have the chance to win,” he told the Weekend Sports Breakfast on talkSPORT.
“It’s true that it’s the same opposition, it’s Liverpool again and when you arrive in the final there are two teams and you want to be on the winning side. You want to win it. It doesn’t matter who you play, you want to get your hands on the trophy. In the League Cup final we were close and we lost it on penalties but now we have the chance to win, so we will make the most of it.”
Chelsea have already added two trophies to their cabinet this season as they emerged victorious in both the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup finals. In the Premier League, Thomas Tuchel’s side had shot out of the blocks and were top after 14 games of the campaign. In fact, after their 2-2 draw with Liverpool on January 2, Chelsea were one point clear of the Reds. However, poor form and injuries have taken their toll and now Chelsea trail Liverpool by 16 points and leaders Manchester City by 19.
The Chelsea skipper believes that Saturday’s showpiece event is a crucial marker in setting the tone for an improved season next year. Azpilicueta said: “We look at ourselves and we want to win the FA Cup. It’s true that we won the European Super Cup, the Club World Cup for the first time in our history and now we have the chance to be in the FA Cup final.
“Of course, ending the season with three trophies and a spot in the Champions League would be good. We wanted more because when you’re the Champions League winners you want to hold your trophy because the experience we had was amazing and we wanted to repeat it, but unfortunately we couldn’t make it.
“In the Premier League we’ve been at the top of the table for some time but we were not consistent enough to keep it and we are disappointed in that side. Next season we’ll work to get closer to both competitions because I think we have the potential to do it.”
