Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel paid tribute to an ‘incredible’ Kasper Schmeichel save following their FA Cup final defeat to Leicester City at Wembley, speaking to the Blues website.
It’s a fair reflection of how Leicester’s number one played during the final 15 minutes on Saturday that, when Tuchel highlights that stunning reflex stop, you’d be forgiven for wondering which one he was referring too.
Schmeichel made not one but two truly world-class saves as Chelsea hammered on the door.
There was that sinew-straining reach on 78 minutes, as Leicester’s Great Dane kept out a bullet header from former Foxes team-mate Ben Chilwell.
Moments later, Schmeichel repeated the trick, leaping to his left as Mason Mount launched a rocket of a volley towards the opposite corner.
And it was the second save that had Tuchel talking at full-time, insisting that no blame could be apportioned onto Mount as Leicester held on to win the FA Cup for the very first time.
“Don’t forget, if it wasn’t for an incredible save from Schmeichel, then (Mount) would have scored an equaliser. It wasn’t to be,” says the former PSV and Borussia Dortmund boss.
Schmeichel wasn’t the only Leicester player did something quite ‘incredible’ on Saturday of course.
Youri Tielemans was the best player on the pitch, cruising across the Wembley turf like a revving Rolls Royce before thumping a 25-yard wonder-strike into the top corner of Kepa Arrizabalaga’s net.
Games like this are so often won by moments.
And, thanks to Tielemans’ brilliance and Schmeichel’s gravity-defying heroics at the other end, Leicester have their first piece of silverware since that Premier League title triumph five years ago.
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