Cesar Azpilicueta was left red-faced by a cheeky Southampton mascot as he was given his own Steven Gerrard moment.
Chelsea skipper Azpilicueta was lining up in the mouth of the St Mary's tunnel waiting to lead his side onto the pitch ahead of the Blues' Premier League clash on the south coast, when the young Saints fan stuck out his hand. But when the Spaniard went to complete the handshake, the mascot withdraw his offer and wiggled his nose.
Azpilicueta, who was making his first start since the opening round of the season, reacted with complete bemusement, to suggest the action wasn't a comedy staple in 1990s Pamplona.
It turned out the mascot had the first and last laugh as Southampton went on to shock the five-time Premier League champions with a 2-1 victory, after Romeo Lavia and Adam Armstrong hit back following Raheem Sterling's opener.
Twitter spotted the hilarious moment. One user wrote: "That's where they won this game hahahahaha". Another joked: "been done before. Bit more originality kid", with two laughing emojis. Another football fan added: "Chelsea done on and off the pitch." And a Southampton fan wrote: "This is where Chelsea's problems began. Lad got into their heads and rattled them."
The prank is a classic playground jape, played by schoolchildren for decades, and one that Liverpool legend Gerrard was foul of when facing Chelsea back in 2006. On that occasion, a blue-haired child excitedly shouted "Gerrard" after an interchange with John Terry before playing the practical joke on a none-too-pleased Reds ace - who playfully slapped the youngster.
Who did it better - the Southampton mascot on Azpilicueta or the Chelsea mascot on Gerrard? Comment here
Gerrard admitted in his autobiography a few years later that: "If it was an adult I would have wanted to wring their neck!" The mascot outed himself as five-year-old Jake Nickless recently during an interview with Sport Bible.
"I remember my dad putting me up to it," said Jake last year. "I kept saying I wasn't going to do it and I think he eventually believed it, so he stopped. But in the moment I was just excited and thought why not. I knew the game was also on TV and loads of people were watching, so I just provided a bit of entertainment. Me and Gerrard actually didn't speak at all, All I said was "Gerrard!" to get his attention.
"I remember Claude Makelele and Michael Essien laughing as it happened, and John Terry gave me a pat on the head afterwards, when I walked back to hold his hand. I think everyone found it funny...apart from Stevie G."
Azpilicueta is in his 11th season at Chelsea having made close to 500 appearances for the west London outfit. He was strongly linked with a summer transfer to Barcelona, after his contract ran out at the end of last season, but an extension clause was triggered.
Thomas Tuchel bemoaned Chelsea's second defeat of the season, both coming against south coast opposition. The German said: "It is not enough to win away matches, it is not enough to play 20-25 minutes on the level we want. It is too easy to put us off balance, to beat us, to confuse us," he said.
"It is too easy. It happened against Leeds. We need to understand why and find solutions. We lose concentration, we lose our plan and lose consistency, it is too easy to beat us. We need to have answers, we need to step up and play a level higher if needed."
