Thomas Tuchel lauds Cesar Azpilicueta for his consistent displays for Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel has lavished praise on Cesar Azpilicueta for the consistent displays that the skipper drops for Chelsea. The defender was on the scoresheet recently in his side’s 2-1 victory over Lille in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie.
Azpilicueta had just returned to the squad after missing the previous fixture against Newcastle United. Despite that, he did not show any signs of lack of match sharpness, having performed well once again for the Blues. Not to mention, he was used as a right-wingback which is not his favoured position as Reece James was out on the sidelines. That is without even considering the off-the-field issues, which would probably have affected the team, including the captain.
Speaking in the post-match press conference (h/t Chelsea official website), Tuchel has conveyed that the Spanish defender is the perfect embodiment of a player who bleeds for the West London side regularly. The boss added that it is the way the skipper carries himself which makes him a true leader for their side.
“He is maybe the perfect example to describe as a person and as a leader what we are doing. He is just doing what he is doing and he’s doing it in good times and in bad times, when he’s a regular player and when he’s a regular starter. He’s doing the same thing over and over again when he has personally maybe a period where he suffers a bit, maybe he’s not playing regularly. He needs to play all the time wing-back, which is maybe not his very best position, but he’s there and he just lives on a daily basis what it takes to be Chelsea captain.”
Forever grateful!
What’s ironic is that we may not have focused much on the Blues captain if he did not get himself on the scoresheet yesterday. After all, the central defender has performed similarly like this whenever he was given chances this season. But we failed to give him the credit that he deserves in most cases, as we expect him to play at such a level regularly.
That could have prevented the 32-year-old from getting the recognition that he deserves for his performances. Thankfully, that was not the case recently, and it is good to see him receive plaudits for yet another fine display. Let’s hope that he continues in this trajectory, as it would undoubtedly help us challenge for titles this term.
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The Premier League veteran has less than six months left on his current contract at Stamford Bridge. He continues to be solid for us and perhaps the club should try to extend his stay for a while longer. That could be difficult due to the sanctions imposed on us, which prevents us from engaging in contract negotiations.
But we are hopeful that a solution can be found as soon as possible so that we can try to reach an agreement with the Spaniard over a contract extension. Let’s hope that he can stay for longer with us, having been ever-present in our success over the years.