There will always be players who miss out when it comes to finals, but you have to think that Tammy Abraham will be feeling really down after missing out on the Champions League final.
He also missed out on the FA Cup final recently but this does appear to be worse, as both Kepa and Willy Caballero have been listed on the bench instead.
Abraham isn’t listed on the injury report and it’s possible that Chelsea will need to chase this game and go for a goal, so you have to think that this is a clear sign that he’ll be leaving the club this summer:
Have we seen the last of Tammy Abraham in a #CFC shirt? Picking two keepers on the bench and leaving out the top scorer in all competitions for a UCL Final says a lot for Abraham's future at the club. I'll be surprised if he stays beyond the summer.
— Sam Inkersole (@Sam_InkersoleTM) May 29, 2021
The only way that this makes any sense is if Tuchel has gone for some advanced penalty shoot-out planning, while Edouard Mendy was carrying a rib injury going into this so there is a chance that he’ll need to be replaced.
Perhaps he sees Kepa as the better keeper from open play but then Caballero as the better penalty stopper, although surely we wouldn’t see a repeat of the Carabao Cup final where Kepa refused to leave the pitch before the shootout.
It’s a sad end to the season for Abraham when you consider that he was a key player to start the season, but hopefully he gets the chance to prove himself somewhere else next season.