Chelsea have lost another domestic cup final, with Liverpool coming out on top in a thrilling penalty shoot-out at Wembley yesterday to lift the Carabao Cup.
The Blues may have won the Champions League last season, but they’ve once again suffered a domestic final defeat, having also been beaten in the FA Cup final two years in a row, as well as in their last League Cup final appearance three years ago.
Here’s how Thomas Tuchel’s players rated as Jurgen Klopp’s men took the trophy yesterday evening…
Edouard Mendy (9) – One of the best players on the pitch, and yet bizarrely replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga for the penalty shoot-out. Mendy made some fine saves in normal time and was surely in full flow and confident ahead of penalties, even if Thomas Tuchel felt his backup ‘keeper was more of a penalty specialist.
Antonio Rudiger (8) – A solid performer in defence, Rudiger showed why he’s so important to this Chelsea team and why they’ll miss him if he does end up leaving at the end of his contract.
Thiago Silva (8) – He may be 37 years of age, but Thiago Silva is still one of the very finest defenders in the world, and didn’t let his club down as he dealt with Liverpool’s fearsome attack.
Trevoh Chalobah (7) – A young player with a big future who did well as part of Chelsea’s back three here, especially as the exceptional Luis Diaz was targeting him for much of the game.
Cesar Azpilicueta (6) – Not the best display from Chelsea’s Mr Reliable, who just doesn’t quite have that quality in the final third that modern-day full-backs and wing-backs need.
Marcos Alonso (6) – Similarly, Marcos Alonso wasn’t really the player Chelsea needed in this game, with the injured Ben Chilwell clearly missed.
N’Golo Kante (6) – Worked hard as ever, but N’Golo Kante couldn’t quite dominate the midfield as he often does, with LFC star Fabinho coming out on top in that particular battle.
Mateo Kovacic (7) – Mateo Kovacic had a great game and scored a memorable goal when these two teams met at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League recently, and he was once again the main man in the middle of the park for Tuchel’s side.
Mason Mount (5) – As much as Chelsea fans love Mason Mount, this was far from good enough from the young England international as he missed two big chances that a more clinical player would’ve put away.
Christian Pulisic (5) – How Chelsea miss Eden Hazard, with Christian Pulisic not really looking like being the man to replace the legendary Belgian. Like Mount, he missed a big chance and generally failed to stamp his authority on this match.
Kai Havertz (8) – A fine young player who keeps on improving, this was much better from Kai Havertz, who was unlucky to have a goal disallowed.
Subs: Kepa (0), James (7), Lukaku (6), Jorginho (6), Werner (6)