Mendy lauded by Tuchel for keeping Chelsea in FA Cup final against Liverpool

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has lauded his custodian Edouard Mendy for his "excellent goalkeeping" in their FA Cup final loss to Liverpool on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.

After a goalless draw in 120 minutes, the Merseyside outfit won the ensuing penalty shootout 6-5 to bag their eighth FA Cup title at the expense of their London-based opponents.

The Blues had a poor start and struggled to contain Jurgen Klopp's side, especially in the first quarter of the game.

"It was clear that in some moments we would suffer and unfortunately we did in the first 15 minutes," Tuchel said as quoted by the club's website.

"We looked nervous and tense. We also played with one less day in recovery. We had an away game against Leeds on Wednesday and played again 120 minutes today but it was clear we would suffer against this team during minutes.

"We managed to stay in the match, clearly because of an excellent goalkeeping performance from Edou [Mendy]. We dug in and got better and better, more confident and we found solutions and created chances ourselves. Everybody is in pain, there is no way you escape this game without pain."

It was the second time Chelsea faced Liverpool in a final this season after meeting in the League Cup where the Reds, once again, triumphed in a shootout after a goalless 120 minutes.

"Like in the last final in the Carabao Cup, again we have no regrets," Tuchel continued.

"I told the team that I’m proud. I was happy to arrive with this group and we were sure we would be competitive and make life very difficult for Liverpool.

"We struggled in the first 15 minutes and then we were excellent through the whole match, 240 minutes of final time and played 0-0 against maybe the most dangerous attacking team in the world.

"We created a lot of chances and we deserved it, as they deserved it as well, and again we lost on penalties so we’re disappointed and sad of course but at the same time proud because we left everything that you need."

While Chelsea will now focus on sealing a third-place berth in the Premier League, Liverpool are hoping to topple Premier League leaders Manchester City and silence Real Madrid in the Uefa Champions League final to realise their dream of winning an unprecedented quadruple this season.