Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has claimed that the Reds are ‘ready’ for Wembley as they prepare to renew rivalries with Chelsea this weekend.
The two Premier League sides come together in the capital for the FA Cup final having already faced off in a domestic cup final this season. They previously clashed in the Carabao Cup final, the Reds running out victors on penalties.
It of course remains to be seen whether the result will be the same this time around but Reds playmaker Thiago has claimed that he and his teammates are ready for the showpiece, with Liverpool still aiming to complete an unprecedented quadruple - albeit that now looking unlikely after Manchester City took a significant step towards claiming the Premier League.
Speaking with the Reds’ official website, he said: "We came from other countries – not just me but other players – and just met this amazing competition, the oldest in the world. We are really excited to play – not just the competition itself but a final. We're ready for it.
"It doesn't matter if we didn't win [it] before or for a long time. It's just about a trophy that we can win and we add in our backpack this new challenge. We're looking forward to it.
"Wembley is an amazing stadium. It's special itself but then you know that Wembley is used for special moments. There's different context and we're ready to go to London."
Will Chelsea or Liverpool win the FA Cup this weekend? Have your say in the comments below.
Whilst Jurgen Klopp ’s Reds will of course be keen to continue their fight to claim yet more silverware having already scooped the Carabao Cup earlier this campaign, Thiago has his own personal motivations for the match at Wembley. The former Bayern Munich man was denied the chance to participate in the previous success at the national stadium having picked up an injury in the warm-up.
He has admitted that whilst the celebrations were memorable, they were tinged with slight regret having not played a role in the aforementioned victory.
"We fought a lot to arrive in that moment, that you can play in a final, and then suddenly because I had a bad thing, a bad neck problem and it caused just like a chain of movement that in the end caused me an injury in the hammy,” he continued. "It's a moment where you are just frustrated. You just calm down a bit, you try to be cold enough to face the final. It was as it was.
"We won it and, for sure, it's bittersweet that you don't play that game, but you're happy for the team. Lifting a trophy is a special moment but it was more for the frustrating situation that everybody had the last few years.
"It was because of what we have been through and was a kind of celebration of overcoming that situation."
