Carabao Cup final Chelsea player ratings: Heartbreaking defeat

Reece James (Right wingback): 7/10

The young English defender showed why the team needs him so badly when he came on as a substitute. Reece James made sure to keep up with the opposition’s pace and therefore, keep them at bay. James did not make any mistakes and he was always aware of his positioning, as well as the opposition’s. However, if there was a game to show those offensive abilities, it was this one as he possesses enough skill going forward to break a deadlock at any moment.

Jorginho (Central midfielder): 7/10

The Italian international came on full of energy and ready to make an impact. His quick passes allowed for Liverpool to leave openings through the middle of the park. He also made long passes to the forwards, which, under other circumstances, could have ended in the back of the net.

Timo Werner (Center forward): 2/10

Part of me wants to say Timo Werner didn’t do much wrong, but the truth is, he didn’t do much at all. The German ran at defenders with the ball, but failed to get anywhere close to the box on most occasions. He hardly made any penetrating passes or runs that were onside and he was conservative—if not ineffective—with his build-up. Taking this performance, or lack thereof, into consideration, one can conclude that  Werner does not have much time left as a Blues player.

Romelu Lukaku (Center forward): 3/10

Same story, different venue. There was not a lot going on with Romelu Lukaku; although he was able to hold defenders, he didn’t do much after that. The Belgian was slow in reacting to the ball, he failed to control aerial balls and he was offside in the one chance he did everything right. To be fair, his performance was to be expected after his recent outings.

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 1/10

The one in the rating stands for the one job he had in this game. Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought in to stop penalties, which he failed to do on 11 different occasions. Instead, when it was his time to take one, he skied it. While this is something that could happen to anyone, and stopping penalties is the hardest thing to do in football, the way he missed the penalty was almost laughable.

Thomas Tuchel (Manager): 9/10

The fact that the team failed to score some of the chances created is not on Thomas Tuchel. In fact, his assessment of the game was spot on. The only mistake he made was bringing on Arrizabalaga, but taking recent history into account, one can hardly fault him. Hindsight is 20/20. Tuchel deserved a winner’s medal, but it was not meant to be.

What rating would you give to each player? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!