Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has no problem with Mason Mount going public with his desire for "payback" over Liverpool when the two sides meet in the FA Cup final next month.
Mount has been part of a Chelsea side that has lost a final at Wembley on five separate occasions and will be desperate to put an end to that unwelcome record come May 14 when the Reds roll into London. Mount bagged the Blues second goal under the arch last weekend as Chelsea eliminated Crystal Palace to reach the final.
The day prior, Liverpool put in a scintillating display to topple title rivals Manchester City and ensure their hopes of securing what would be a historic quadruple remain in tact. The first trophy is already in the bag after the Reds beat Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup final.
Mount has admitted that the time has come for Chelsea to end their Wembley hoodoo while also getting their own back on Liverpool in the process. "It’s definitely time for us to win a final at Wembley," the 23-year-old said.
"For me it is five finals, so we have to put the pressure on us to step up. We remember those defeats and now it is time to get payback." Tuchel hardly played down his midfielder's comments and instead opted to echo his sentiments.
Asked about them, the German said: "Good. Yeah, good! Of course we feel it [the need to get revenge]. The Carabao Cup final was so close; it wasn’t last season or two years ago. It was a few weeks ago we lost in the same stadium on a pretty similar occasion.
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"Now it is an even bigger cup. Of course, it’s a traditional cup, it has these similarities and of course, it seems like you can come back. That’s what it’s about in sports: if you lost against a team on such short notice it feels a bit like, 'come on, let’s turn things around quickly'."
Tuchel stopped short of claiming it was a case of getting payback himself, but did explain that his side are reading and raring to go. "If you call it revenge or something else, it doesn’t matter. But we all have this competitive feeling. That’s clear," he added.
The Blues next fixture comes in the form of a home clash with an Arsenal side desperate to keep their hopes of Champions League qualification alive. Tuchel will be all too aware that a defeat could mark a panicked end to the season that could see their position in third come under threat.
