Neil Warnock suggests Cesar Azpilicueta is 'a bit LUCKY' to have had his trophy-laden career

Neil Warnock has slated Cesar Azpilicueta's defensive capabilities and said that the Chelsea captain was 'lucky' to have made it in football.

Azpilicueta guided Chelsea to their 2-1 victory over Palmeiras in the FIFA Club World Cup final on Saturday evening. As a result, Azpilicueta has won every major honour available to the Blues during his tenure.

The 32-year-old has officially claimed the Premier League title, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Champions League, Europa League and most recently the Club World cup while playing for the Blues.

Regardless of his achievements, Warnock says Azpilicueta is defensively weak. The former Middlesbrough manager believes the Blues captain is 'very fortunate to be at a club like Chelsea'.

Speaking on TalkSPORT, Warnock said: 'I think it goes two ways to be honest. I think Azpilicueta has been a very fortunate lad to be a at a club like Chelsea. I don't think he is a great defender.

'Sometimes in football you need a bit of luck and I think he's had a bit of luck at the right time and in the right place. That's what you need in football, you need a bit of luck to be successful.'

Azpilicueta took over the Chelsea captaincy from Gary Cahill in 2019. He had a lot to live up to but proved on Saturday night that he was a worthy leader.

Chelsea won the Club World Cup after Palmeiras defender Luan Garcia gave away a 117th-minute penalty.

Kai Havertz converted from the penalty spot to see the Blues win 2-1, but Azpilicueta made the headlines for his involvement in the penalty.

The Chelsea captain took the ball away from Havertz to confuse the Palmeiras before the extra-time penalty was taken.

He tricked the opposition into think he was taking the penalty - which mean the Palmeiras directed their comments towards him instead.

'It was a tactic because I knew how they are,' Azpilicueta said following the victory at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium. 'I knew they were coming for the penalty taker, so I took the ball.

'Kai knew that he was going to shoot so it was to release the pressure from him. It was a decisive moment and Kai is one of the best penalty takers.

'I waited and listened to everything their players told me, and I think it worked which is the most important thing.'

Azpilicueta also said he was 'proud' to be the Chelsea captain and that he was happy his side won the Club World Cup as he felt the manager and players deserved it.

He said: 'I'm really proud to be the Chelsea captain, leading the club on and off the pitch.

'This title feels very good because it's the first time in our history. The club deserves it, the owner deserves it and I'm proud we achieved it.'

Meanwhile, Warnock was sacked as the manager of Middlesbrough in November 2021. The Veteran boss had only just broke the record for the most games managed in English football before being sent his marching orders.

He broke the record when Middlesbrough played against Birmingham. As a result, he now sits on the new record of 1,603 games.

However, his long-standing relationship with English football was not enough to keep him in the job. Having won just six games in 17 league outings, Warnock was given the sack.

He was replaced by Chris Wilder - who had the task of turning the club's season around as they languished in 15th place, just four points off the playoffs.

Warnock and Azpilicueta crossed paths during the manager's time at Cardiff. The Chelsea skipper joked that he would pay Warnock's fine after his offside goal caused the boss to explode in his post match interview.

Warnock was issued with a £20,000 fine by the FA for criticising the officials after the game in March 2019. He was furious as his side were leading 1-0 before Azpilicueta's goal and went on to lose the game 2-1.

Azpilicueta admitted after the game that he thought he may have been offside and joked about paying the manager back.

He said: 'We will talk in private about sending him money. 'I was there in the middle because I was the one who scored the goal. 'When I scored, I looked at the linesman. I thought I was on the edge.'