Thiago Silva: Chelsea veteran's epic run to deny Mo Salah goes viral

Back in August 2020, veteran Brazilian centre-back Thiago Silva signed a one-year deal with Chelsea, shortly after being deemed surplus to requirements at previous club Paris Saint Germain.

According to reports, the Ligue 1 giants feared that Silva – 35 at the time – was on the decline and had doubts as to whether he would continue to be able to operate at the highest level. As a result, they refused to offer him even a short-term extension to stay at the Parc des Princes.

Some 18 months later, it’s pretty clear that PSG’s loss was a massive gain for Chelsea. Just last month, the now 37-year-old signed an agreement to remain at Stamford Bridge for a third year – and his performance in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool proved exactly why the Blues were so keen to get him to put pen-to-paper.

Thomas Tuchel’s men ultimately failed to lift the first major trophy of the domestic season, losing out on penalties to the Reds after an absorbing 120-minute battle at Wembley Stadium.

At an age where most top professionals are already comfortably settled into retirement, Silva battled away for the entirety of the match and was one of Chelsea’s most consistent performers on the day.

Per Football Talk, Silva touched the ball on 93 occasions during the contest, winning a total of eight aerial and ground duels. He even rattled in a spot-kick during sudden-death when the match came down to penalties.

However, Silva’s most impressive contribution during the final came when making a fine goal-line clearance to deny Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah just after the hour mark.

An uncharacteristically poor ball from Blue’s shot-stopper Edouard Mendy gifted the Egyptian winger a one-on-one opportunity at the Chelsea goal.

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