‘Palmeiras players comes around! Cesar Azpilicueta finally reveals what he told Kai Havertz before taking the penalty
Following the Palmeiras clash, Chelsea had taken the lead through Romelu Lukaku in the first half, but the Blues were pegged back after the hour mark, with Raphael Veiga scoring a penalty to level the scores for the Brazilian side.
However, The Blues finally defeated Palmeiras 2-1 in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, after an intense battle in Abu Dhabi.
With extra time far spent, the game was heading towards penalty shootout, until Chelsea were awarded a late penalty kick.
Immediately the penalty was awarded, Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta quickly ran to the penalty box and took hold of the ball, pretending he was the eventual taker, only to hand the ball over to Kai Havertz who smashed it home.
Now, Cesar Azpilicueta has finally explained the reason for his action.
Azpilicueta explained: “I expected the Palmeiras players to come around the penalty taker.”
“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!”
Meanwhile, after the game, Liam Twomey revealed he was very much impressed with the skipper’s action.
“Very clever captain’s play by Azpilicueta,” Twomey wrote on Twitter.
“Held onto the ball and made Palmeiras think he was the pen taker, absorbed all their attempts to delay and get in his head, then gave the ball to Havertz.”