Gabby Agbonlahor has criticised Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen after he missed the FA Cup final.
The 26-year-old defender was absent from his side’s FA Cup final against Liverpool on Saturday, which they cruelly lost on penalties to make it a repeat of the League Cup final earlier in the season.
Blues manager Thomas Tuchel has been asked about the centre-back’s absence on the weekend. He was fairly hesitant to go into too much detail about why Christensen was missing, but shared a conversation took place on the morning of the game.
“Andreas came in the morning of the match (FA Cup final) to inform me, to speak to me. He told me he was not ready to play the match, to start the match and be on the bench. He had his reasons. They stay private and confidential,” Tuchel explained.
He added: “I don’t think it’s that he does not want to play, he was not able to play. It’s a big difference. We had more than this conversation, but on Saturday morning, he finally told me.”
Christensen missed FA Cup final
A report claims Christensen didn’t play against Liverpool because he felt ill.
There are some fans and pundits that aren’t buying that as an excuse, though. For example, talkSPORT pundit Agbonlahor suspects the player’s absence may have been for selfish reasons to avoid injury.
Christensen’s due to leave at the end of the season when his contract at Stamford Bridge expires, with Barcelona reportedly set to sign him.
“That sounds to me like he doesn’t want to injure himself for his next move,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT.
“At first I was thinking has he woken up ill in the morning, but going by that interview he’s basically saying he doesn’t want to get injured Christensen… It’s bad.
“Why not go out on a high and win the FA Cup with Chelsea? They could have done with him.”
Time for change
With a top-four finish now secured in the Premier League, it would be great to see Tuchel use some youngsters in the final two matches this week.
It feels like a good time to check out some academy players in defence given the club’s uncertainty at the back moving into next year.
Dylan Williams, Xavier Mbuyamba and Bashir Humphreys are under-23s players to consider.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.