Sunday’s Carabao Cup final was an incredible game of football where everything that could have happened, did. In all honesty, more than one visit to a cardiologist may be required following the game’s conclusion, just to make sure everything is still working fine. Chelsea was great on the counterattack as it created plenty of chances—but missed all of them. Everything, bar the finishing, went according to plan. Unfortunately, the lack of goals cost the Blues in the end as they were defeated in penalties. They were unable to lift their third trophy of the season due to a missed 11th penalty by none other than Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Here is how each individual played in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup final defeat:
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 50/10
If anyone asks who the best keeper in the world is right now, show them clips of Edouard Mendy’s performance in the Carabao Cup final. The Chelsea keeper was outstanding in every aspect of the game. He single handedly kept his side in the game on numerous occasions. Mendy pulled off some impossible saves that, otherwise, would have been clear goals for Liverpool. His positioning, reflexes and agility were as sharp as a knife throughout the entirety of his time on the pitch. Although he did not make it to the penalties, Chelsea would not have made it through the game without its No. 1 between the sticks. A 50/10 feels like a fair assessment of his performance.
Trevoh Chalobah (Right centerback): 6/10
The young, gifted defender struggled for most of the match against the likes of Luis Diaz. Trevoh Chalobah, despite his speed and intelligence, was having difficulties keeping up with the Colombian. He was often caught out, a little far up the pitch and was forced to sprint back to catch up with the Liverpool attack. However, inside the box, he was fantastic as he put his body between the shots and the keeper on numerous occasions. Chalobah also made some excellent tackles and kept calm in most cases. Although there was room for improvement, he did a decent job.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 10/10
At this point, is this even a surprise? Thiago Silva rolled back the years with a fantastic defensive performance. The Brazilian made tackles timed to perfection, intercepted passes, blocked shots and even cleared the ball from going into an empty net. It is hard to believe Silva still plays this good at his age, but here we are. He was a wall at the back and the rest of the defenders need to learn from him before he is gone.
Antonio Rudiger (Left centerback): 9/10
The German international put on another fantastic performance in his own unique way. Defending, he covered spaces when deep balls were played in by the opposition. He even kept Mohamed Salah quiet for most the match. In addition, he did he things one would expect for Rudiger: sliding into a tackle with both feet, clearing the ball by attempting to kick it out of the stadium and getting into the opposition’s face. He’s got the works and we love it.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Right wingback): 4/10
The captain’s contribution was cut short as he was substituted by Reece James. Although it was questioned at first, once the change was made one could understand why the skipper needed to be removed from the contest as he hobbled off. Although he performed well for the time he was on the pitch, problems were brewing on the right side of the field for Chelsea with the aforementioned Colombian winger wreaking havoc. Diaz was becoming a problem, and Azpilicueta was unable to get back in time to fulfill the defensive duties.
Going forward, he was his usual conservative self, which in most cases, is not a bad thing. But in a final against Liverpool, the team needed to take some chances.
N’Golo Kante (Central midfielder): 7/10
It was a decent performance from the N’Golo Kante, but it could have been better. As usual, Kante was at right place, intercepting passes, making tackles and pressuring the opposition whenever needed. However, he was loose with his passes and possession. Despite all of that, the French international was still fundamental to Chelsea’s success all the way through the end. Whatever mistakes he made were not too dangerous and were easily corrected by either himself or others.
Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 10/10
Mateo Kovacic made no mistakes and played with intensity all the way until the end—defending, passing and pressuring. The Croatian did it all and excelled at it. It was a wonderful performance that deserved a better outcome. Kovacic was the reason the Blues could formulate an attacking game plan and he was the reason the defense was able to breathe easy so many times.
Marcos Alonso (Left wingback): 9/10
Despite the criticism that Marcos Alonso has received lately, this was one of his best performances in a Chelsea shirt as of late. At no point was the Spaniard out of position, nor was he beaten easily by the opposition’s attacking pace. Alonso was all over the left flank, defending, helping the midfield and trying to create openings for the attackers. Alonso performed accordingly given the occasion, all he was a missing was a trademark goal.
Mason Mount (Right winger): 2/10
Usually, a rating this low for Chelsea’s star boy isn’t the case. Nevertheless, Mason Mount was outright bad in the Carabao Cup final. He missed chances, including two of the most important and clear chances Chelsea had throughout the 120 minutes of action. In fact, if the Englishman had scored on the shot where he hit the post—where he had a ton of time and space to take the shot and only the goalkeeper to beat—the Blues would have won the game by holding on to a one-goal lead. Hopefully this is a learning experience and it pushes Mount to do better in the future. He earns such a horrendous rating due to the fact he played a huge part in costing Chelsea a trophy.
Kai Havertz (Center forward): 8/10
The German wunderkind was the only creative forces in the attack during this match, which is odd because he was playing as a striker, he should have chances created for him for the most part. Kai Havertz was calm and collected when deciding which passes and runs to make to or inside the 18-yard box. He should have made at least three assists, but neither one of the wingers alongside him converted the chances in which he created. Despite all of that, Havertz was the only reason Chelsea stood a chance going forward as he was solid during the entirety of the contest.
Christian Pulisic (Left winger): 1/10
Not only was the American fairly bad, he missed a chance from just a couple of yards out in the early moments of the contest. Christian Pulisic did not contribute to much during the game. Although he dropped deep to receive the ball, he didn’t contribute to anything substantial going forward aside from the early chance he had on goal. His movement inside and outside the box was mediocre at best, and he failed to capitalize when it matters. At this point, the United States international is running out of time at Chelsea.
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!