Chelsea vs Liverpool combined XI: Carabao Cup final starting team

Right winger: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool

Chelsea has sold a lot of talented players prematurely over the years. That lists includes current Blues striker Romelu Lukaku, Manchester City maestro Kevin De Bruyne and Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah. Despite the former duo being immensely talented, Salah’s meteoric rise to football stardom has made him perhaps the most regrettable sale on the aforementioned list.

The Egyptian winger is arguably the best player in the world on current form, as his goalscoring abilities from out wide are unmatched by anyone in football not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Salah is truly a special footballer, which pains me even more when I have to write “Liverpool” after his name, as opposed to “Chelsea.” This was one of the easiest choices in this list as Salah comfortably gets into any team in the world, no questions asked.

Striker: Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea

This is perhaps the position—or rather, selection—that will come with the most controversy. Lukaku is not a popular figure amongst Blues fans right now due to his ill-advised comments about Chelsea and his former club, Inter Milan, to the Italian media a few months ago. Combine those immature quotes with his poor form as of late and the Belgian has made life incredibly difficult for himself during his reintroduction to English football. Lukaku has done well to score goals this season, despite injuries and battles with COVID-19. He’s found the back of the net 10 times across all competitions and that’s considered poor form. Lukaku is one of planet Earth’s best No. 9s on his day and there’s few who will disagree with that point.

Jota’s fitness being questionable with an injury makes the decision to start Lukaku that much easier. Roberto Firmino is also not match fit, so it really came down to a question of who the Blues’ best striker is right now. A lot of bitter supporters will cry out for Kai Havertz. While I’m admittedly a huge fan of the German wunderkind, Lukaku is still miles ahead of Havertz right now.

Left winger: Sadio Mane, Liverpool

There has been a lot of talk recently about Sadio Mane having a “bad year” on social media. While 13 goals and one assist may not be up to par given the high standard supporters hold the Senegalese winger to, that’s still an incredible return. Mane’s 11 goals in the Premier League have him down as the league’s third-highest scorer as of late February. Meanwhile, the Blues’ leading scorer overall sits 19th in the English top flight scoring charts and those goals are coming from a midfielder turned winger. This isn’t a slight on Mount either, but it’s rather meant to highlight the absurdity of what Mane has accomplished, as well as the inconsistency of Chelsea’s attack. The simple fact is nobody within the Blues’ squad can compete with what Mane and Salah bring to the table from either side of a three-man attack.

Who makes your combined XI? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!