Neil Warnock has suggested Cesar Azpilicueta has been ‘lucky’ to have won all the trophies he’s had during his time with Chelsea.
On Saturday, the London side were crowned Club World Cup champions for the first time in their history after beating Palmeiras in extra-time through Kai Havertz’s penalty.
In doing so, Azpilicueta became Chelsea’s first player ever to complete a clean sweep of major titles, having also won the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, European Super Cup, FA Cup and the League Cup.
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Former Premier League manager Warnock believes the 32-year-old, who is currently the club’s longest serving player, has been fortunate to win so much silverware.
‘It goes two ways. I think he’s been very fortunate lad to be at a club like Chelsea,’ he told talkSPORT.
‘I don’t think he’s a great defender. Sometimes in football, you need a bit of luck and I think he’s had a bit of luck that he’s been there at the right time and at the right place.
‘That’s what you need in football. You need a bit of luck to be successful.’
Azpilicueta certainly played a key part in the win over the Brazilian team and showed exactly why he wears the armband for how he helped Havertz score the winning goal.
After being awarded a penalty in extra-time, Azpilicueta grabbed the ball and acted as a decoy by pretending as if he was the penalty taker to draw the attention away from the player by making himself the target of Palmeiras disruption tactics.
‘I expected the Palmeiras players to come around the penalty taker,’ Azpilicueta explained.
‘I already told Kai he was going to shoot. ‘I just tried to release the pressure from him, be more calm.
‘With three minutes to go, it’s an important moment. It worked!’
