Chelsea's centre-back Thiago Silva has been branded 'very clever' after what he did during a period of Liverpool domination in the FA Cup final at Wembley. There was nothing to separate the two sides for most of the game, and the 37-year-old should take credit for it remaining like that, according to Joe Cole and Robbie Fowler.
Both teams came into this clash with plenty of history to make going into this one. For Jurgen Klopp, the incentive of a historic quadruple loomed large while Thomas Tuchel was looking to put two Wembley defeats behind him.
These two sides competed for the Carabao Cup back in February, with Liverpool claiming the glory after a lengthy penalty shootout. Leicester got the better of Chelsea in the FA Cup final of 2021, too, and the Blues boss will have been desperate to put those defeats to bed and claim the fourth trophy of his spell as manager.
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Tuchel's heart may have been in his mouth when one of his star players went down with an injury in the opening 20 minutes of the game, however. As Luis Diaz bared down on the Chelsea goal, Edouard Mendy rushed out to make a save. But in the aftermath, Trevoh Chalobah collided with Silva, leaving the Brazilian on the ground wincing with pain.
He eventually appeared to run off the problem. But pundits working on ITV's coverage of the game had a different theory. Fowler and Cole were on hand to represent Liverpool and Chelsea, respectively, and both club legends agreed that it was a clever moment from Silva.
"I didn't think he was injured," Fowler said. "I think he used his experience, knowing Liverpool were so on top and comfortable that the game needed to be steadied down from a Chelsea point of view. He used all his experience he's got to calm the game."
Cole added: "That was crucial, surviving. Thiago Silva was very clever. He went down with an injury after 15 minutes, and it killed Liverpool's momentum."
