Thomas Tuchel and his Chelsea side will be hoping to end their season on a high note on Saturday when the Blues face Liverpool in the FA Cup final at Wembley. The match is a repeat of the Carabao Cup final earlier this year, where the Reds edged the encounter on penalties.
In a game of fine margins, neither team could take the initiative, but it was Jurgen Klopp who walked away with the first of potentially four trophies this season. Compare that to his opposite number who, albeit has a Club World Cup to show for his efforts, Tuchel has otherwise seen his side come so close this campaign with little to display for it.
Despite the chance in the final, the German head coach hasn’t declared the game a must-win encounter, saying in his pre-match press conference: “First of all, we have a chance to win something domestically – and we have been to the Carabao Cup final. We have won European trophies and World trophies. There are worse seasons out there. A lot of teams have had a worse season than our season.
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"I wouldn't get carried away and say we have to win it. We will try everything, and it changes a lot if you play a final or win a final, I can tell you.
“We will do everything to be happy with ourselves and that we leave everything out there on the pitch. This is what we did in Carabao. Nothing new. We need luck, it needs to be on our side. We will push hard for it."
The final few points are something that are hardly factored into football, that being the importance of luck. While managers try to explain reasons for things going right or wrong, as statistics become more involved in the sport and fans try to understand the game on a deeper level, the place of luck and chance within it are still fairly unknown and regularly unspoken of.
However, it wasn’t just once that Tuchel brought up the role it will play in the final, but twice he alluded to the need for things to go his side’s way at Wembley: “There is a special momentum you have to catch and for sure you need a piece of luck to go away with a trophy.”
This was, interestingly, something that Liverpool boss Klopp echoed, saying ahead of the game: “We know in football without luck you have no chance.” It makes for interesting reading, given that both managers are known for their meticulous training methods and planning, and yet this unknown factor in luck is still something they discuss.
While it is normally seen as a way to shirk responsibility or a bad performance in the media, perhaps it shows just how key a role luck plays in football. Both sides will be hoping that the odds are in their favour come the trophy lift on Saturday, with a defining moment in the season for the respective clubs.
