Thomas Tuchel would have been hoping that by now, the Carabao Cup could have ended a fantastic February that saw the club become Champions of the World with their Club World Cup victory earlier in the month.
But instead, the sober reality of a penalty shootout loss has settled in, though it wasn’t for a lack of the Blues trying to win the game.
Neither side could be separated over three games this season, including the final going to extra-time and then penalties after.
With big stakes comes big risks and Tuchel made such a bold move in bringing on substitute goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for the shootout.
The Spaniard was unable to save any of the spotkicks fired his way though, blazing his own over the bar to lose the shoot-out, and thus the cup, 11-10.
For Chelsea, it represents a disappointing outing in a game that could have easily gone their way on another day.
However, for Mason Mount in particular, it continues a worrying trend for the midfielder in Wembley finals.
The 23-year-old looked a threat for the Blues all afternoon, before being substituted in the second half, and will perhaps feel aggrieved he didn’t score.
Towards the end of the first-half, the England international saw a pass flashed his way in the box, but he went for power rather than placement and fired his shot wide of the post.
Another chance fell his way after the break, though this time it would be the post that would deny the Cobham academy product finding the back of the net.
The loss now means that Mount has now faced defeat in his last five Wembley finals, a stat that he will surely be wanting to break the longer it continues.
The streak began when the midfielder was part of the Derby County side that lost to Aston Villa in the playoff final back in 2019.
The season after, he was involved in a final again with Frank Lampard, but this time for Chelsea as they fell to a defeat at the hands of Arsenal in the FA Cup.
Fast forward to last season and Wembley begins to become a tough place to go, with the Blues falling at the final hurdle of the FA Cup again, this time to Leicester City courtesy of a Youri Tielemans strike.
The summer brought about more heartache at the home of English football as England lost to Italy on penalties in the European Championships final.
And now, the loss in the Carabao Cup final brings about a fifth straight defeat in finals for Mount at Wembley.
Whilst, of course, football is a team game, it will be something he will be keen to shake off when he surely visits Wembley in a major final next.
Mount revealed to The Mirror in early February that he keeps all of his second-placed medals with him as motivation.
He said: “I think you look at the second place ones for memories and experiences, the Euros one, the FA Cups. You look at them and think how distraught you were after the game and they bring back that kind of feeling when you look at it.
“I know a lot of players, as soon as they get a second place medal, they throw it to the side but I kinda like having them. They’re not in the trophy cabinet. They’re in the side. You can use them as motivation.
“You can use them to remember that feeling you had after the game. That you never want that again. Then you look at the trophy cabinet and see the winners’ medals and that feeling of winning and you remember that as well.”
The defeat at Wembley could help spark the fire in his belly to continue winning trophies for Chelsea in the future.
