Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has predicted Mason Mount will bounce back after the Blues lost to Liverpool on penalties for a second time this season at Wembley.
Neither Chelsea or Liverpool were able to break the deadlock after 120 minutes of play as the two teams had to settle a domestic cup final on penalties once again. Azpilicueta stepped up second for the Blues but saw his spot kick hit the post, handing the Reds an early advantage.
After Sadio Mane's penalty was saved by Edouard Mendy, the shoot-out went to sudden death with Mount's penalty being saved by Liverpool's Alisson Becker before Kostas Tsimikas won it for Jurgen Klopp's side. Azpilicueta has backed Mount after the England international lost his sixth consecutive Wembley final stating the 23-year-old will 'have a lot of chances' in his career to bounce back.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag eyeing shock Man United transfer swoop for Chelsea star amid contract standoff
Chelsea became the first team in history to lose three consecutive FA Cup finals as the Blues failed to convert some golden chances throughout regular and extra-time. Speaking after the game, Azpilicueta was asked about the heart-breaking end to the game for Mount and said: "For me as well, I missed my penalty as well.
"It’s not just Mason, we are all together here. We had the list [of penalty takers] and we all feel confident and we want to shoot.
"This time it happened. I’m sure Mason will have a lot of chances, he’s a young player, I’m sure he will be okay."
Mount has now lost his last six finals at Wembley which include the Championship play-off final in 2019, the Euro 2020 final, the 2022 Carabao Cup final and last three FA Cup finals. Mount was not involved in the penalty shoot-out in the Carabao Cup final earlier this season after the England international was substituted in the 74th minute.
"It’s part of football. Sometimes it’s true that it looks like it is, but of course we are the first ones who are hurt," Azpilicueta continued.
"We want to do our best, we want to score the penalty and make our fans happy, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. We have to put our heads up and go for the next one.
"When we arrived to the penalty shoot-out, we tried to do the best we can. We were ready for it, but unfortunately, this time it didn’t happen again. It’s football, it is hard to take.
"We got over the line in the Champions League, the Super Cup, the Club World Cup, it’s the highest level. There is a fine line where two centimetres can be the difference between hitting the post and going out, or hitting the post and going in.
"Sometimes it’s like this. It’s difficult to describe because now the level in football is higher and higher. The margins are shorter and every detail counts. Of course it hurts when you arrive to penalties after two such big games against Liverpool in the final and to lose."
After a season without winning any trophies, there is expected to be a few changes at the club this summer once new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly's £4.25billion takeover has been confirmed by the government and Premier League officials. Thomas Tuchel is likely to be handed a significant transfer budget to freshen the squad up ahead of the 2022/23 campaign in which the Blues will be hoping to win silverware once again.
Should Romelu Lukaku have started the FA Cup final? Should Edouard Mendy have saved more than one penalty?
