"I have the feeling we created a bit more, were a bit more there."
The words of a dejected Thomas Tuchel as he addressed the media on Sunday evening after a dramatic Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
As the Reds lifted the trophy in front of a half-empty Wembley Stadium on Sunday night, the Chelsea supporters on the tube back from the ground, or in the comfort of their own homes, will have had an overwhelming feeling of "what if...?"
Tuchel had the opportunity to win his third trophy of the 2021/22 season, with the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup already in the bag, but despite his tactics being spot on, he was let down by a case of bad finishing from the Blues’ attacking players.
The first chance of the match fell to Christian Pulisic, who found himself unmarked around eight yards from goal. Cesar Azpilicueta found the American with a sweet first-timed cross, but Pulisic hit the ball straight at Caoimhin Kelleher, who blocked with his knee.
It was a strong save from Liverpool’s second-choice goalkeeper, but an opportunity Pulisic simply had to score.
Just before half-time, Mason Mount found himself free in an almost identical area to the previous Pulisic chance and fired his close-range half-volley wide after some tremendous work from Kai Havertz on the right-hand side.
It was another opportunity Chelsea simply had to take and one that saw the Liverpool supporters behind the goal draw a huge sigh of relief.
Mount had the perfect chance to redeem himself not long after the teams emerged from the half-time break, after Pulisic found the Chelsea man in all sorts of space. He had loads of time, but his touch left the ball underneath him slightly before he passed it against the post with Kelleher beaten.
The Chelsea fans behind the goal could not believe what they were seeing. The Blues had ripped Liverpool apart on three occasions, but fluffed their lines when it mattered most.
Two of those must-score chances fell to Mount, who has long been criticised for his lack of goals in this Chelsea team. The 23-year-old is one of the Blues’ brightest attacking options, no doubt, but he needs to add the clinical touch to his game - and Wembley demonstrated that on a big stage.
Timo Werner failed to impress when he entered the pitch, alongside Romelu Lukaku - who did indeed look sharp and caused Liverpool’s defenders plenty of problems.
Werner, as has been his problem throughout his time at Chelsea, failed to keep himself onside at important moments in the game, despite not needing to go as early as the defenders because of his electric speed.
Even if he was not flagged offside a noticeable amount of times, it was clear to see on many occasions that the Chelsea midfielders were unable to find him as he was clearly beyond the last defender.
Tuchel’s patience must be wearing thin for Werner and his time could indeed be up in the summer transfer window.
So, where do Chelsea look in the summer? Of course, the Erling Haaland rumours refuse to go away, but that looks unrealistic at this point, with so many clubs after the highly-regarded Norwegian forward.
Ousmane Dembele is an option, but he has failed to show this season the clinical edge Chelsea need in their attacking line-up.
Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge - and with 20 direct goal contributions in all competitions for the Germans, it is easy and clear to see why. It looks like the 18-year-old could be on his way to Borussia Dortmund, though, if reports are to be believed.
Whoever it is, Tuchel and Marina Granovskaia need to find a solution in the summer transfer market to avoid what happened on Sunday.
It could be argued that Tuchel got the better of Jurgen Klopp at Wembley, but the latter will not care about that now.
