What Andreas Christensen did that surprised Chelsea players concerning the FA CUP Final
The Danish defender was set to make his debut for Thomas Tuchel, but Trevoh Chalobah came in at the last minute to face Liverpool.
Andreas Christensen stunned his Chelsea teammates by withdrawing from the squad to face Liverpool in the FA Cup final on the morning of the game, according to football.london. The Dane was supposed to start at Wembley, but Trevoh Chalobah was called in after Christensen left the team hotel on Saturday morning.
Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger completed Thomas Tuchel's back-three for the day, and they held off Liverpool for 120 minutes.
Chelsea were eventually defeated on penalties at Wembley, with Mason Mount and Cesar Azpilicueta both missing spot-kicks.
Christensen appeared to be fully fit and physically ready to play after playing the entire 90 minutes against Leeds United the previous week, but informed Tuchel that he did not feel ready to play on Saturday morning, leaving his teammates stunned and perplexed. Earlier this season, the 26-year-old also left the game against West Ham after the warm-up, citing stomach cramps.
He is set to leave Stamford Bridge on a free transfer at the end of the season, with a five-year deal in place at Barcelona. Tuchel admitted after the game for the first time that he was losing both the Dane and Rudiger, saying, "We are losing Toni [Rudiger], we are losing Andreas."
Despite losing to Liverpool for the second time this season at Wembley, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insisted he was proud of his team and their performance.
"Well, I think, like in the last Carabao Cup final, no regrets," he said in his post-match press conference. "I told the team I was proud of them. I was very proud and happy to arrive with this before the match. We were sure we were competitive and we could make life very difficult for Liverpool. We did it again."
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