Thomas Tuchel was not able to continue his glorious Chelsea run on Sunday as the Blues fell to a Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool at Wembley.
After lifting the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, the German was denied the chance to add the League Cup to his impressive collection.
The teams were not separated after an enthralling 120 minutes of action - each side having goals ruled out by the linesman’s flag, whilst the penalty shootout at Wembley provided little clue as to who the victors would eventually be.
That was until Kepa Arrizabalaga - a late substitute - skied his effort to hand Liverpool the trophy and Tuchel his second domestic cup final defeat following last season’s FA Cup disappointment.
football.london has taken a look to see the national media’s response to the defeat and of course the Chelsea boss’ big call to introduce his Spanish stopper.
THE GUARDIAN
It was a move from Thomas Tuchel that had worked before. In the European Super Cup final at the start of the season against Villarreal, the Chelsea manager had brought on Kepa Arrizabalaga for the penalty shootout. Arrizabalaga saved two and Chelsea won.
The goalkeeper had been the hero of two shootout victories earlier in this edition of the Carabao Cup, saving once apiece against Aston Villa and Southampton, having started both ties, and he even made a crucial penalty save in extra time to secure the 2-1 FA Cup win over Plymouth earlier this month.
This time, it all went wrong for him and Tuchel.
THE MIRROR
Liverpool won the Carabao Cup in a mammoth penalty shootout after an end-to-end final somehow finished goalless after 90 minutes.
Goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher scored Liverpool's 11th kick, before Chelsea substitute stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga - who had been brought on to save spot-kicks - skied his over the bar.
James Milner, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah, Diogo Jota, Divock Origi, Andy Robertson, Harvey Elliott and Ibrahima Konate all scored from the spot for the Reds in a frantic shootout.
MAIL ONLINE
Thomas Tuchel made one mistake. He brought on Chelsea’s specialist penalty expert.
Not only did Kepa Arrizabalaga not save one of Liverpool’s 11 efforts from the spot – meaning the entire team put one past him, including goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher – he then sent his own spot-kick, the 22nd of the match, into orbit halfway up the Liverpool end.
And so Jurgen Klopp and his players landed the first domestic trophy of the season, after a particularly fine goalless draw, which Chelsea shaded on scoring chances but, like Arrizabalaga, could not finish.
Mason Mount missed two sitters, Christian Pulisic one and there were four goals disallowed – three for Chelsea, one for Liverpool. Left to their own devices the players then found the net 21 times before Arrizabalaga – who had been introduced with a minute of extra-time remaining, as Chelsea’s specialist penalty saver – skied his effort to gift the spoils to Liverpool.
THE TELEGRAPH
Thomas Tuchel admitted that he did not know whether Chelsea would feel comfortable celebrating, given the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the nationality and associations of the club’s oligarch owner Roman Abramovich, should they win the Carabao Cup but Liverpool dramatically spared them that dilemma.
They triumphed in an extraordinary shoot-out, after extra-time and after every outfield player had scored, with Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga ballooning his effort high over the crossbar to spark wild scenes of jubilation. It was his only kick of the ball having come on as a 119th substitute specifically for the penalties.
Caoimhin Kelleher, who was a striker in his youth, assuredly scored what turned out to be the winning effort before Arrizabalaga’s miss and led those celebrations as red smoke from a barrage of flares from the Liverpool fans billowed across Wembley.
