Thomas Tuchel expressed his delight with a "controlled and serious" performance that guided Chelsea into the FA Cup final.
Chelsea reached a third successive FA Cup final, matching the feat achieved by Arsenal between 2000-01 and 2002-03, with a 2-0 triumph over Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace at Wembley.
Substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring in the 65th minute with his first goal in any competition since November 2020, before Mason Mount sealed semi-final success with 14 minutes remaining.
The 2021-22 campaign now marks Mount's new-best scoring season, with his 12th strike this term surpassing his 11-goal haul for Championship side Derby County in 2018-19.
Tuchel, who has progressed from each of the 11 semi-final ties in his managerial career, congratulated his players for their efforts amid a hectic schedule, with Chelsea having slipped out of the Champions League after going to extra-time against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
"It was not easy because we played three games in three different competitions," Tuchel told ITV Sport.
"It is not always easy, very challenging physically, we are the team with the most minutes in Europe I think, it is also challenging mentally.
"I thought the performance was very controlled and very serious, we took care of their counter-attacks. It was hard, the opponent changed system twice, you cannot lose focus for a minute."
Tuchel also reserved special praise for Loftus-Cheek, who scored his first Chelsea goal since May 2019, when he netted in a Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
"He [Ruben Loftus-Cheek] was very, very strong in matches against Southampton and Real Madrid, he would have deserved to start," said Tuchel.
"We knew Ruben would have a big impact off the bench. I am very happy.
"He hid his talent and potential for a long time in his career. He is capable of producing performances that everyone sees on the pitch. For him, it is step by step that he continues to grow in his confidence."
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool stand in the way of Chelsea in the final, and it will be the second time the same two sides have competed in the EFL Cup and FA Cup showpiece events in the same season, after Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday met in both competitions in 1992-93.
Tuchel, though, cannot wait to renew his battle with the quadruple-hunting Liverpool, who ran out penalty shoot-out victors in the EFL Cup in late February and defeated Premier League title rivals Manchester City in Saturday's semi-final.
"I am happy to be part of it again, I cannot be more excited and more proud because it is a huge competition. We will be ready," he added.
Manchester United’s Anthony Martial ruled out of FA Cup final through injury
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has been ruled out of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City due to a hamstring injury.
Martial picked up the problem in United’s final Premier League game of the season after stepping off the bench on Sunday against Fulham and scans have revealed the full extent of the damage.
United said in a statement: “Anthony Martial is out of Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup final against Manchester City due to injury.
“The France international strained his hamstring towards the end of Sunday’s 2-1 win against Fulham at Old Trafford.
“Assessments have since revealed a muscle tear that rules the 27-year-old out of the Wembley showdown.”
Martial missed United’s first two Premier League games this season due to a hamstring problem, while other small injuries since have restricted him to 29 appearances in all competitions in which he has scored nine goals.
Only 11 of his 21 league appearances this season have been in the starting line-up, but he had been hoping to be in contention to start at Wembley against City, who are looking to complete a domestic treble.
The former Lyon winger, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Sevilla, joined United from Monaco for £36million in 2015 and has made almost 200 league appearances for the club in total.
‘We are two great teams’ says Jose Mourinho ahead of Europa League final
Roma boss Jose Mourinho said Sevilla’s six previous Europa League trophy wins will count for little against his side in Wednesday’s final in Budapest.
Sevilla are bidding for a record-extending seventh triumph at the Puskas Arena, in a match the Hungarian media have dubbed ‘The Specialists against The Special One’.
Mourinho has yet to lose in five major European finals as a manager, while Sevilla have won all six of their Europa League finals.
The Portuguese told a press conference: “History does not play. My colleague (Sevilla head coach Jose Luis Mendilibar) thinks otherwise, I have respect for him.
“He believes that history makes Sevilla favourites, I respect that. We are in the final because we deserve to be.
“They have a history that we do not have. For them to play the final is a normal thing, for us it is an extraordinary event.”
Mourinho is aiming to become the first manager to win the Europa League with three different clubs after previous successes with Porto (2003) and Manchester United (2017).
The 60-year-old former Chelsea boss added: “We are two great teams, with high-level players.
“It’s curious because we talk about coaching experience, but we face a Sevilla side that has very accustomed players.
“They are a bit more experienced in finals, but my team comes here ready. We have played a lot of European games in the last two seasons.”
Mourinho’s latest European trophy triumph came last season when he led Roma to victory over Feyenoord in the inaugural Europa Conference League final.
Roma finished second in this season’s Europa League qualifying group behind Real Betis and overcame RB Salzburg, Real Sociedad and Feyenoord in the knockout rounds before edging past Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 on aggregate in their semi-final.
The Italian side, currently sixth in Serie A with one game remaining, could be boosted by the return of former United defender Chris Smalling (hip), while Argentina’s Paulo Dybala is hoping to play some part despite an ankle injury.
Sevilla head coach Mendilibar, 62, will become the oldest manager to win the Europa League if the Andalusians seal a record-extending seventh tournament win.
He said the side which makes the fewest errors on the night at the Puskas Arena will prevail.
The former Eibar and Alaves boss said: “Mistakes are what you pay for in games like this and it’s about making the fewest mistakes possible.
“We’ve eliminated big teams, but the most difficult one is ahead of us. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes will win.”
Mendilibar has transformed Sevilla since replacing Jorge Sampaoli at the end of March when they were two points above LaLiga’s relegation zone.
They have risen to 11th in the table, 10 points clear of the drop zone with one game left, and won their Europa League quarter-final and semi-final under Mendilibar against United and Juventus respectively.
Dujon Sterling ‘thrilled’ to sign Rangers deal after ending Chelsea career
Rangers have announced the signing of Chelsea right-back Dujon Sterling.
The 23-year-old will join on a four-year contract on July 1 when his Chelsea deal expires.
The versatile player made two substitute outings for Chelsea in cup competitions but has made more than 100 first-team appearances across loan spells with Coventry, Wigan, Blackpool and Stoke. He played 28 times this season with Sky Bet Championship side Stoke.
Rangers manager Michael Beale told his club’s official website: “I am delighted to welcome Dujon to Rangers, he is an exciting young player who, I’m sure, will be a great addition to our squad.
“He is someone I was aware of from my time at Chelsea, and I have always kept an eye on his career as it has progressed.
“He is a very powerful and strong defender, who has fantastic attacking qualities and I look forward to working with him at Rangers.”
Sterling added: “I am really excited to come to such a big club, there’s a lot of history and the supporters are so passionate, so I am thrilled.
“I wasn’t expecting to make my mind up about my future this quickly, but the gaffer came in for me straight away and what he proposed to me was everything that I believe I need.
“We were on the same wavelength, he believes in me and I believe in what he is trying to do as well so it was a no-brainer for me to come.”
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