Chelsea was out for retribution in the FA Cup final after falling at the same stage last year. Frank Lampard’s Blues were beaten in the final of the tournament in 2020 by Arsenal. With a new head coach at the helm, and a new opposition standing on the other side of the pitch, the Londoners wished to be second-time lucky.
As is the case with most of the finals, the first half was a cagey affair. Chelsea dominated possession but did not create any clear-cut opportunities. Timo Werner—who led the attack on the night—had a few shots blocked, but apart from that, the Blues rarely threatened the Leicester goal. The Foxes, on the other hand, were happy to sit back and play on the counter. Jamie Vardy did get the chance to shoot inside the box, but his attempt was blocked by Reece James, who, shockingly, was deployed as a centreback.
Youri Tielemans gave Leicester City the lead just past the hour-mark. The Belgian’s slammed an unstoppable shot from distance into the top corner, despite the best attempts of Kepa Arrizabalaga. Chelsea threw forward its attackers, but it wasn’t to be their night. Ben Chilwell—on as a substitute—hit the post first and later had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside. Mason Mount too drew a fantastic stop from Kasper Schmeichel, but the Blues were unable to find the all-important goal. They ended up losing the match, and consequently, their second FA Cup final in a row.
Here are the player ratings from this crushing defeat:
Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 6.5/10
Thomas Tuchel confirmed that Kepa Arrizabalaga would be starting the cup final earlier in the week. The Spaniard did not have much to do on the night, and there was nothing he could’ve done to stop Tielemans’ strike from going into the top corner. Arrizabalaga was alert to the runs of the opposition attackers and did come out of the box to intercept one such long pass to Jamie Vardy.
Reece James (Centreback): 6.5/10
The big surprise of the match was Reece James starting as a centreback instead of Cesar Azpilicueta; who was deployed further forward by Tuchel. It was a move to counter the pace of Jamie Vardy, to that end, it worked perfectly. James marshaled the Leicester City striker around with ease, denying him the chance to run clear of the defense. However, he did give away the ball cheaply for the Foxes’ only goal of the match.
Thiago Silva (Centreback): 7/10
Thiago Silva played a stunning long pass to Ben Chilwell for what Chelsea thought was the equalizer. However, VAR controversially ruled the goal out for a marginal offside call against the former Leicester player. Defensively, the Brazilian enjoyed a good game. However, he was left stranded for the Foxes’ only goal of the match, as a quick turnover inside the Chelsea half allowed Tielemans the chance to shoot.
Antonio Rudiger (Centreback): 6.5/10
It wasn’t the kind of performance we have come to expect from Antonio Rudiger lately. He was tasked with the responsibility of closing down Kelechi Iheanacho—a job he performed well. However, he refrained from taking risks, and as a result, we didn’t get to see many surging runs into the opposition box.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Right wingback): 6.5/10
Azpilicueta playing as the right wingback was the obvious surprise once the match began, especially because James was present on the pitch, as well. While the tactics were clearly targeted toward the Leicester City attackers, Azpilicueta’s lack of pace did take away Chelsea’s attacking threat down the right side. The Chelsea captain was replaced by Callum Hudson-Odoi in the second batch of substitutions.
N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 7/10
The Frenchman was one of Chelsea’s better players defensively. He enjoyed a particularly good first period against his former employers, as he closed down the opposition’s midfielders and won the ball back on countless occasions. However, N’Golo Kante’s lack of attacking acumen did hurt his team.
Jorginho (Central midfielder): 6/10
The Italian took fewer risks in the middle of the pitch, perhaps with the events of the week still fresh in his mind. He often chose to play the safe pass rather than the risky ones, albeit that was down to the Leicester press on occasions. With his team trailing, Tuchel decided to withdraw the central midfielder for an extra attacker.
Marcos Alonso (Left wingback): 6.5/10
Marcos Alonso was the surprise pick in the starting XI, with Tuchel deciding against starting Chilwell as the left wingback. The Spaniard contributed little to the attack and was withdrawn shortly after Leicester scored the opening goal.
Ben Chilwell (Left wingback): 7.5/10
Chilwell entered the pitch to loud jeering from the traveling Leicester support. A year ago, he was playing in the royal blue of the Foxes before sealing a summer switch to Chelsea. Ironically, Chilwell came the closest to leveling the match for the Londoners on two occasions. The England international hit the post with his first attempt. His second, meanwhile, ended up in the back of the net via a deflection off Wes Morgan, only to be ruled out for an offside.
Callum Hudson-Odoi (Right wingback): 6.5/10
Hudson-Odoi replaced Azpilicueta in an attacking change. The winger was far less conservative than his predecessor on the pitch and constantly looked to link up with Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz in the attack. However, he too was unable to rescue the match for the Blues.
Hakim Ziyech (Right winger): 6.5/10
Tuchel made the call to start the match with Hakim Ziyech and Mount as the two wide players behind Werner. However, the Moroccan did not enjoy the best of games. He and Werner were often not on the same wavelength, which meant that his attempts to play the German in behind were in vain. Ziyech was taken off as part of a double substitution by Tuchel in response to the Leicester goal.
Timo Werner (Striker): 7/10
The German was lively in the first half but had most of his shots blocked by the opposition defenders. He made some good runs in the final third of the pitch and tried to link with his teammates on several occasions—often doing so, as well. However, Werner did not receive any clear cut chances on the night and was replaced by Olivier Giroud late on.
Mason Mount (Left winger): 7.5/10
As usual, Mount was one of Chelsea’s best players on the pitch—if not the best. The attacker operated best in pockets of space left behind by the retreating Leicester defense. However, he found space hard to come by in the second half. Mount thought he had scored the equalizer when he hit a stunning left-footed volley towards Schmeichel’s goal, only for the goalkeeper to pull a rabbit out of the hat. His performance was deserving of more, and he will be disappointed to end up on the losing side for two years in a row.
Christian Pulisic (Right winger): 7/10
Despite being at Chelsea for just under two years, Pulisic already has the experience of scoring in the FA Cup final. The American winger netted against Arsenal last year but was unable to finish the match due to a horrific injury. Pulisic started the match on the bench for Chelsea but came on to replace Ziyech in the first batch of substitutions. The youngster looked lively and often drove at the opposition defenders after collecting the ball from deep. However, he was unable to match his performance from last season’s final and ended up on the losing side yet again.
Kai Havertz (Striker): 6/10
Havertz had the chance to make amends for his horrible miss against Arsenal in midweek. Alas, it was another disappointing performance from the German, who replaced Jorginho midway through the second half.
Olivier Giroud (Striker): N/A
The Frenchman was Tuchel’s last throw of the dice and it did not work. Giroud replaced Werner with less than 10 minutes left to play in the match. With him on the pitch, Chelsea’s approach became direct. The Blues slammed crosses into the box, most of which avoided the head of the French international.
What rating would you give each of the players? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!