Chelsea are in desperate need of a rebuild. If it wasn't clear before, then it is now. The Blues have officially lost their sixth Wembley final in a row following defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup. As per their last meet at Wembley, the two sides gave the fans a tight, end-to-end battle on the pitch but this time around it felt different. In the Carabao Cup final, it felt as though the Blues could have won in normal time. They arguably played better than Jurgen Klopp's side but missed far too many clear cut chances that they had created for themselves.
This time around, it was the same old story, but it felt as though there was a dip in quality, as well as a dip in passion. It was a nail-biting 120 minutes of football and an even worse feeling when it came to the penalty shootout. Mason Mount and Cesar Azpilicueta missed their target in the shootout and despite Edouard Mendy's heroic save for Sadio Mane's penalty, Liverpool came out victorious.
If you ask me, the two players who missed the penalties do not escape blame, but they are the least of Chelsea's problems. There are too many potholes in this team and judging only from the FA Cup final, there's a lot to dissect.
Read More: What Chelsea's FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool means for Thomas Tuchel and Todd Boehly
Defence
To be quite fair, for the most part, Chelsea's defence was airtight. The centre-back trio of Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah was a perfect match for Liverpool's Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah and Mane. They held on quite well against Europe's most elite front three. But we cannot ignore the red flags.
Thiago Silva went down in the first half to what looked like it could be a season-ending injury. It was a major concern considering the lack of options left on the bench. I could not fathom the idea of bringing on a questionable Malang Saar in his place as we could see him warm up on the sidelines, ready to go in case Silva's situation was dire. It was an absolute gift that the Brazilian got up and continued on. Andreas Christensen who may no longer be an option for the Blues next season was out of the squad leaving Sarr and Azpilicueta as the only options. You could only envy Liverpool's situation as Virgil Van Dijk went off injured before extra time and was replaced with a reliable Joel Matip.
Cesar Azpilicueta is a respectable captain and has given Chelsea some of the best games of his career. The 31-year-old is simply ageing and it showcases in his recent performances. He is no longer a long term starting option for Chelsea, nor can he be a complete fix off from the bench. It would be nice to see him for one more year, but he has become prone to mistakes and it's time for something new.
Marcos Alonso delivered a near-perfect game, however, the lack of pace slowed Chelsea down. He was not dynamic enough in the build-up. With Ben Chilwell on the mend and Alonso rumoured for a move to Barcelona, that second left-back choice needs addressing. If Chilwell is to return in time for the next season, he will need healthy competition, not just for his personal development, but for the fans. His athleticism has been missed across the fan base and Chelsea needs to provide a seamless player to swap him in case this happens again. Similar to what Liverpool has with Andy Robertson and Tsimikas.
Midfield
Chelsea have a world-class midfield. There is no argument about it. Jorginho, N'golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic are three very good players who I call workhorses. Jorginho once again proved how much Chelsea needs him in that midfield. He provided complete stability against the Reds. Considering that Thomas Tuchel had pretty much ruled Kovacic out of the final following his injury against Leeds on Wednesday night, it was a miracle that he was able to last for 66 minutes. The Croatian was substituted for N'golo Kante who also delivered a master-class in midfield.
Jurgen Klopp was unable to match Tuchel's twin 6's. It's always a nightmare playing against Tuchel's midfield when they are all 100%, but the problem is not with their performances. It's with their availability.
Kante has missed 16 games this season due to injury. Kovacic has missed 15 and Jorginho has spent the majority of his season playing with pain during both of his teammates' absences because the Blues simply had no other choice. We cannot have another season with this much instability. It's not efficient and will need to be addressed in the summer. The harshest decisions may come from the midfield as Chelsea fans remain conflicted on who should go and who should stay. Both Kante and Jorginho's contracts run out in 2023, so the Blues will need to decide this summer.
Attack
Here is where things become tricky. The fan in me would like to see a complete rebuild amongst the attackers, but logically it just would not make sense. Liverpool's substitutions were incredibly frightening when it came to their attack. Mohamed Salah only lasted 33 minutes until he was forced off with injury. Diogo Jota took his place. When Liverpool needed to try new ideas, Luis Diaz, their best attacker on the day, was substituted off for Roberto Firmino. Looking at Chelsea's situation, you can understand why a desperate rebuild is needed.
Kai Havertz and Timo Werner were both out of the question for Thomas Tuchel as both players were suffering from a hamstring pull. Havertz was not included on the team sheet, whereas Werner was allowed to warm up on the sidelines as the game commenced. Watching Werner run up and down during his warm-up gave fans in the stands, including myself, a sense of belief that he could come on and change the game. But that did not happen.
Romelu Lukaku started off extremely well in the first half. Despite him missing one or two chances, he was performing better than many would have predicted. The second half his performance dipped and it was difficult to see him rectify his situation so Tuchel had to make a change. The 85th minute saw the Belgian substituted for Hakim Ziyech which meant Christian Pulisic operated as a false 9.
Pulisic was having one of the worst games that I had seen from him in a long time. His decision making was off, he had missed three very good chances. The frustration from his performance just highlighted the need for a decisive, clinical attacker. The American was unable to see much of the ball with the positional changes which made it difficult for Hakim Ziyech or Mason Mount to get into dangerous areas and create.
The build-up towards the final third was fine, it was the lack of decisiveness and finishing in the box that let us down. How often has that been the story this season already? I think back to the days of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka. If they were in our attacker's shoes, it would have been a completely different story. I just can't seem to put my finger on what has gone so wrong for these players.
An Ousmane Dembele would have done this attack some justice. Maybe with an attacker like that, we may not have had to have Ruben Loftus-Cheek play at false 9. The natural midfielder took the place of Pulisic and gave it his best but it was clearly not enough.
Thomas Tuchel and Todd Boehly have some harsh decision making to do this summer. There is more than enough to take away from the FA Cup final alone. Boehly was in attendance to witness another disappointing performance from the Blues. If his aim is to truly maintain Chelsea's winning reputation, he must initiate a rebuild.
