Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has admitted he is “proud” of reaching his second FA Cup final for so many seasons.
Tuchel led his team to victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon in the semi-finals of the tournament, with a second-half strike from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount who got in line after a hard start.
The victory kicks off with a meeting with Liverpool on Saturday 14 May, after the Reds beat Manchester City 3-2 on Saturday. It will be the second time the two teams have met in the final this season, with the Reds winning the Carabao Cup in a penalty shootout against Chelsea in February.
Speaking after the Palace win, Tuchel told ITV he would not be too happy to visit Wembley in May.
“I’m happy to be a part of it again. I wouldn’t be so happy, proud, because it’s a big tournament and playing one of the finals at Wembley, thank you very much. We’ll be ready.”
Tuchel is very pleased with the way his team has dealt with fatigue against Palace, with the Blues playing an incredible amount of football already this season.
“It wasn’t easy because we played three games in three different tournaments. It’s a big physical challenge, we’re a team with a lot of minutes in Europe I think. And mentally, going to different competitions and getting out of the Champions League. Behind us,” he said.
“I thought the operation was very controlled, very bad. We took very good care of the attack before creating counter-attacks – which is their biggest strength.”
Germany retained the special tribute of Loftus-Cheek, who caused the game to come to life with an amazing first-half goal.
“He is very good. He was very strong, very good in the games against Southampton and Real Madrid and he would have been fit to start,” he said.
“But to be honest, we were expecting four full-backs and an old backfield and we wanted to have our captain Azpi on the pitch.
“We knew we had a great Ruben on the bench and I’m very happy with him right now.
“This is what he shows in coaching but I think he hid his ability and energy for a long time in his career. He is able to produce games that are seen by everyone when he is on the field.
“It’s mostly stepped by step and you continue to grow and feel confident.”
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