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Former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer shared what Chelsea could've done differently in their FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool on May 14. He said that Blues manager Thomas Tuchel should've started striker Timo Werner.
The west London club lost 6-5 on penalties at the Wembley after a goalless 120 minutes. Both teams were guilty of squandering some great chances. With Chelsea needing a cutting edge in attack, many hoped to see Werner in action.
Shearer believed the same. The former England striker said on BBC (via Mirror) before kick-off:
“With Chelsea, Havertz is injured. But I’m surprised Werner’s not playing, because of his pace, because of the high line we know Liverpool play. I know he gets offside a lot but it would have been a huge threat for him to be running behind.”
Werner didn't feature in the entire game. Many were perplexed by the decision. Tuchel explained after the game that his compatriot seemed to have picked up an injury during warm-up. He said:
“Then Timo felt uncomfortable in the warm-up and said he could not play. A hamstring as well. We had no options.”
With Kai Havertz also injured, Werner's absence turned out to be a huge loss for the Blues against a high-line playing Liverpool side.
Liverpool's quadruple dream still on with FA Cup win against Chelsea
Liverpool have now beaten Chelsea in two domestic cup finals this season. They first beat them on penalties (11-10) in the Carabao Cup final in February. They have now repeated the feat in the FA Cup final on May 14.
Jurgen Klopp's men have now won two of four possible trophies this season. They will play Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final on May 28 at the Stade de France in Paris.
In the Premier League, they trail leaders Manchester City by four points with a game in hand. City dropped points against West Ham United on May 15, coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.
If the Reds beat Southampton on May 17, they will go within just one point of the champions with one game to go.
Manchester City play against Aston Villa, while Liverpool face Wolverhampton Wanderers in their final Premier League game on May 22.
