Chelsea fiercely fought Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final but in the end, it was Jurgen Klopp’s side who came out on top courtesy of an intense penalty shootout.
The Blues had made it a habit of winning finals under Thomas Tuchel and they had some good chances to win this one as well. They even scored a couple of goals during the 120 minutes but each time the goal was ruled out due to offside.
Tuchel tried every trick in his book to outsmart Jurgen Klopp and had his players been a bit mindful of the offside line then Chelsea could have won it. But in the end, it was down to poor luck and a wild Kepa penalty which decided the fate of the two sides.
Tuchel got almost everything spot-on on Sunday apart from the fact he chose to take off Edouard Mendy to bring Kepa Arrizabalaga into the side.
KEPA ARRIZABALAGA COMES OFF THE BENCH IN THE 119TH MINUTE AND MISSES THE DECISIVE PENALTY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/keKmsKLTN9
— GOAL (@goal) February 27, 2022
Chelsea players ratings vs Liverpool:
DEFENCE:
Edouard Mendy: 8.5/10
Mendy made some really big saves all throughout the match and maybe he should have been on the pitch for the penalty shootouts as well.
Rudiger: 7.8/10
Rudiger did a great job at keeping the combination of TAA and Mo Salah at bay. He made one block, three interceptions and a staggering nine clearances.
Thiago Silva: 8.3/10
The engine in the Chelsea team was on point again as he made a last-ditch goal-line clearance along with two major blocks.
Chalobah: 8.5/10
The 22-year-old was brilliant on the right-hand side of defence and despite playing 120 minutes, he was dribbled past only twice.
MIDFIELD:
Marcos Alonso: 8/10
With Ben Chilwell out, Tuchel was short on left wing-back so Marcos Alonso had to play the full 120 minutes and the Spaniard did a competent job.
A tough end to a hard-fought final, thanks for your support today Blues. 💙 pic.twitter.com/uaAZ0hdZX4
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 27, 2022
Kovacic: 7.9/10
The 27-year-old was chosen ahead of Jorginho and for large parts of the game, he was the creative fulcrum for Chelsea in the middle of the pitch.
N’Golo Kante: 8.3/10
Kante did misplace a few passes during the match but he more than made it up with his 13 recoveries and five interceptions. He wasn’t dispossessed even once.
Azpilicueta: 6.5/10
The Chelsea captain had a rather muted outing and in the 57th minute, he was replaced by Reece James.
Chelsea players comfort Kepa after his miss 💙 pic.twitter.com/xpfwQX51NA
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 27, 2022
ATTACK:
Pulisic: 6.3/10
The American made a few good runs during the first quarter of the match and he missed one big chance.
Mason Mount: 6.8/10
Mount was another attacking player who was poor on the night, missing two major chances while one of his shots was blocked. Had he converted his chances, Chelsea might have won the Carabao Cup final.
Kai Havertz: 7.6/10
Havertz was selected ahead of Lukaku and the German did a wonderful job running the channels but he failed to hold up the ball.
SUBSTITUTES:
Reece James: 6.5/10
He was brought on to add some attacking oomph but for the 63 minutes, he was on the pitch the England international was mostly seen defending inside his own half.
Romelu Lukaku: 6.6/10
Lukaku added the much-needed strength in the final third and he also scored but VAR ruled it out due to offside.
Another offside goal 🙃 pic.twitter.com/GIAXmNEUJ4
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 27, 2022
Werner: 6.3/10
He made some exciting runs down the flanks but he had only 21 touches in attacking areas.
Jorginho: N/A
Kepa Arrizabalaga: 6.2/10
Kepa was brought in just for the penalty shootouts because he was the specialist. He failed to save even one of the 21 Liverpool shots and to make things worse, he missed his shot which lost Chelsea the final.
Stats via Fotmob
