This archive report was first published on 12 August 2019.
On August 12, 2019, Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta expressed his support for Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount, two young players who faced criticism from Jose Mourinho following their 4-0 loss to Manchester United.
Mourinho had questioned Frank Lampard's decision to start the inexperienced duo against a top Premier League team, suggesting that proven veterans like N'Golo Kante, Olivier Giroud, and Marcos Alonso should have started instead.
Azpilicueta disagreed with Mourinho's assessment, stating, "If they are here it is because they deserve to be. They are fighting in every training session. We trust in them."
"All the boys, they train to play for the Chelsea first team since they were young and now we have a massive opportunity to create a fantastic group, to learn from every game."
"Obviously everyone would like to start in a better way but we have to face the reality and become stronger from it." Despite the loss, Azpilicueta remained optimistic, urging his teammates to draw a line under the defeat and focus on their upcoming European Super Cup final against Liverpool.
