Coming off a run of two wins, two losses and one draw in their last five games in all competitions, the stage was set for Pochettino’s inconsistent Blues to grab their first silverware under the Boehly era.
The team sheets were out and all odds were against the outgoing Liverpool boss, Jürgen Klopp, whose side had seen big names sit the Carabao Cup Final out due to injuries. Both teams created chances and missed some big ones during the normal time which ended in a barren draw forcing them to play an extra thirty minutes (just like when these two teams last faced off in 2022 at the Wembley Stadium).
Virgil Van Dijk’s header late in extra time helped Klopp’s men lift the league cup trophy twice in two years while Chelsea, once again, set another bad record of being the first English side to lose six consecutive domestic cup finals. The big question most football fans keep asking themselves when Chelsea play and potentially lose a football match is: “why would a team spend so much money on football transfers just to end up beaten home, away and ‘far away’ ?”
Here are my thoughts on where the league cup final was lost and how Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino could have prepared his team for his first chance to win a trophy on English soil. Football is a game that requires physical, emotional and most importantly mental strength. The youthful Chelsea players conducted interviews with several media outlets as part of the league cup final build up. Most of them spoke of how they were motivated and excited ahead of what could have been their first trophy under Todd Boehly’s reign.
In a game that had controversial VAR decisions made and big chances missed, Jürgen Klopp edged out Pochettino through one thing only, mental preparation. There has been a story doing rounds of the the Argentine manager saying that his players felt “maybe penalties would be good for us” and that’s where rain started hitting them.
Pochettino as the manager should have talked his team through the extra time urging them to keep on fighting and find the winning goal(s) but rather they chose to sit back against a hungry and even more youthful Liverpool side. He instead chose to flow with the players’ mentality and it ended up costing Chelsea a trophy and a potential spot in the UEFA Conference League. The major problem in this expensive Chelsea squad is not tactics and the money spent on transfers but rather the mentality and urge to fight for the club whenever they play. You can see it in their body language and how they play ; most of them will lose possession and walk on the pitch like nothing happened. The Chelsea attackers will get chances but lose confidence in the final third hence missing out on game-winning opportunities.
Mauricio Pochettino should instill the winning mentality and fighting spirit in his players and opposing teams will be in trouble whenever they face off. It all starts from the top (coaching staff) to the bottom and even the academy players just like Jürgen Klopp showcased when he fielded a couple of academy players in a domestic cup final and they gave their all for the team; fighting for every 50-50 ball, trying so hard to keep possession and most importantly made them believe that Liverpool can beat any side they face.
