The second half of the season has gone pretty well for Chelsea Football Club. Since Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, we have been the second-best club in the Premier League with 32 points from 15 matches, five more than current second-place team Manchester United. A better start to the season could have seen us run much closer to Manchester City at the top of the table.
More pertinently, Tuchel has made Chelsea a team to be feared in knockout competitions, as we’ve now advanced to the finals of both the FA Cup, beating Manchester City on the way, and of the Champions League, where we will face Manchester City in the final at the end of the month.
Chelsea booked a place in that final by beating perennial European superpowers Real Madrid rather comprehensively earlier this week, with a 2-0 second leg that could’ve easily been 4-, 5-, 6-0. It was a game that had its fair share of individual standouts, but for Captain Cesar Azpilicueta, it was all about the collective.
“It was a massive performance from the team. We knew were up against a tough opponent but we performed very well and we actually could have scored a few more goals [but] the most important thing though is that we are in the final and we still have one more step. We want to go to the final and try to win it, of course.”
“We have a fantastic squad and staff around the club. Everybody pushes hard in training and it creates an atmosphere to be together and fight for every ball from the start. For me, this is massive to create a strong group and we have plenty of things to fight for ahead of us in the massive weeks coming up.”
Azpilicueta joined Chelsea nine years ago, right after our last Champions League final appearance. It would be a perfect reward for his legendary career at Stamford Bridge to see him lift the trophy on May 29 — and maybe lift the FA Cup trophy a couple weeks prior as well, just like we did in 2012.
“It’s the Champions League final and anything can happen. We know that Manchester City are a strong team, we have played them a lot of times but it’s a Champions League final and we go with everything.
“We believe in ourselves, we know we have to work hard but we are ready for the challenge.”
-César Azpilicueta; source: Chelsea FC
So say we all.