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Chelsea needs to look in a mirror following its loss in the FA Cup final

By Vansh Ambashta

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 15: Reece James of Chelsea looks dejected following their side's defeat in The Emirates FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on May 15, 2021 in London, England. A limited number of around 21,000 fans, subject to a negative lateral flow test, will be allowed inside Wembley Stadium to watch this year's FA Cup Final as part of a pilot event to trial the return of large crowds to UK venues. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth - Pool/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 15: Reece James of Chelsea looks dejected following their side's defeat in The Emirates FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on May 15, 2021 in London, England. A limited number of around 21,000 fans, subject to a negative lateral flow test, will be allowed inside Wembley Stadium to watch this year's FA Cup Final as part of a pilot event to trial the return of large crowds to UK venues. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth - Pool/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea Football Club has lost the FA Cup final (again) as a result of a poor performance, a world-class strike from Youri Tielemans and a resilient Kasper Schmeichel. The Blues’ season is slowly falling apart, and the cracks that have been there from Thomas Tuchel’s first day are now getting wider and wider.

Chelsea lost to a determined Leicester City side that seemed determined to win the trophy. On the other hand, the Blues were somewhat lethargic and were in a constant battle against themselves. The narrative was similar in the loss against Arsenal in the Premier League. The opposition was relatively poor and didn’t do much to trouble Chelsea, but ended up scoring due to a freak incident. Even if we ignore that goal, Chelsea’s forwards were way off the mark as they continued to miss chances. Against the Foxes, there were several positive runs from the Blues, but none converted to any fruitful attacks. There was a lack of incisiveness and the discipline just wasn’t there. Hakim Ziyech kept losing the ball to defenders while Timo Werner was wasteful.

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The first thought that comes to mind when one sees Chelsea’s attack is that the Blues lack a finisher. Sadly, this has been largely neglected as Tuchel and his men have been on a winning spree and have managed to grind out results. The second leg against Real Madrid was also an example of Chelsea’s poor finishing. While there were several brilliant runs, aided by Madrid’s terrible defensive structure, the final ball and the finish was just missing.

Let’s move toward the manager. The German decided to pull a rabbit out of his hat by experimenting with Reece James in the back three. While the decision looked cute initially, cracks began to show in the second half, and one of his misplaced passes ultimately led to the goal. You cannot make such mistakes in finals, and Tuchel needs to take the blame here, as well. The decision did point toward the randomness that pissed off the fans at Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

What was even more baffling is that Chelsea’s line-up looked strangely different from what fans expected. It seemed that Tuchel had taken the notion of a “cup” team way too seriously. He started Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal along with Marcos Alonso and Ziyech. While Alonso is known as a “big game player,” he has barely played in recent times, and Ben Chilwell has been excellent. Moreover, Chilwell would have played against his old club, which could have added an extra layer of motivation. Alonso struggled to keep up in the game and his output going forward was missing, as well. The second decision that didn’t make much sense was Ziyech’s name on the line-up. Again, Ziyech is a big game player, understood, but Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz have been in great form. Tuchel has to take a large share of the blame, and his contract extension might just get delayed a bit.

Tammy Abraham was left out of the squad once again as Chelsea’s forwards were toothless. The condition of Chelsea’s attack is rather ironic. The Blues have struggled to score in several games, and yet, Tuchel does not have the guts to recall Chelsea’s striker, who has been scoring regularly since last season. However, he dares to field Arrizabalaga, who has been pathetic on several occasions and could have been banished by now. If Arrizabalaga deserves a second chance in a position that already has one of the best players in the league, why doesn’t Abraham get a chance in an attack that can’t finish chances even if their lives are on the line?

Now, there were some strange decisions in the game. There was an appeal for a handball leading up to Leicester’s goal, and it could have been considered. Moreover, Tielemans was involved in a couple of rash challenges and could have been booked multiple times. The VAR incident at the end was also heartbreaking, as Chilwell was deemed offside by millimetres. However, those are all excuses.

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Chelsea fans can go ahead and cry about poor referee decisions and the inconsistency of VAR. The fact of the matter is, you just have to win these games when you have one of the most talented (and expensive) squads in Europe. You have to beat a terrible Arsenal and you have to put up at least a good show against the Foxes, who have been inconsistent recently. There are no excuses—VAR or not, good referee or bad referee. You have to perform in these games, and if you don’t, you don’t have the right to ask questions—end of story.

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