Blogs » Arts & Culture » Player Ratings Chelsea 0-0 10-11 pens Li

Player Ratings Chelsea 0-0 10-11 pens Li

• Posted by lovelystyle lovelystyle February 16, 2023 - Filed in Arts & Culture - 200 views

  Chelsea came up short in their pursuit of Carabao Cup glory after slumping to a 10-11 lo s on penalties against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.The Blues played their part in a game for the ages but came undone from twelve yards, with their opponents, who condemned Chelsea to their third domestic cup final lo s in a row with a ruthle s performance.Chelsea took the ascendancy in the early stages, kicking off with a high intensity and going close early through a chance that Christian Pulisic really should have scored. But the Merseysiders came back firing on all cylinders, forcing Edouard Mendy into a sublime double stop midway through the first half.After watching Mason Mount mi s a sitter on the cusp of the break, Thomas Tuchel will have gone into the interval with mixed emotions having seen his side having to weather the storm for large swathes of the game. A reaction was needed if he was OG Anunoby Jersey to get one up on his German counterpart Jrgen Klopp in the opposite dugout.It almost came almost immediately from the restart, but for Mason Mount to find the post when it seemed harder to find anything but the back ofCaoimhin Kelleher'snet. Liverpool then thought they'd gone 1-0 up in the 68th minute through a Joel Matip header, but VAR adjudged Virgil Van Dijk to be offside in the build-up - with the video technology returning the favour after Kai Havertz headed home ten minutes later. A glut of chances for both teams followed, but Mendy in particular refused to be beaten.Extra-time followed. Romelu Lukaku thought he was hero of the hour in the 97th minute with a trademark finish, but VAR yet again ruled a goal out - this time altogether more dubious - and the same can be said of Havertz in the 109th minute too.Kepa Arrizabalagas penalty mi s meant the Pensioners had failed to add to their current haul of two trophies - the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup - for the season. Thomas Tuchels side will be looking to bounce back as they continue their hunt for a third on Wednesday with a trip to Luton Town for some FA Cup Fifth Round action. In the meantime, here is how Absolute Chelsea rated the Blues performance against LiverpoolEdouard Mendy - 9/10 119 Thomas Tuchel's huge selection dilemma in the build up to this showpiece was whether to keep the faith with Matt Thomas Jersey deputy goalkeeper Kepa Aririzabalaga, who had performed excellently throughout this cup run, or install his trusted number one and FIFA's "The Best". Perhaps burned by last season's FA Cup final, he plumped for the latter - and it reaped rewards. His double save from Naby Keita and Sadio Manin the first period was absolutely incredible, and two similarly ludicrous stops were to follow at the death.Trevoh Chalobah - 6/10 Thrown at the deep end for his Chelsea debut against Villarreal in the Super Cup final, and here he was right back into the pre sure cooker under the Wembley arch not soon after returning from a spell on the sidelines through injury. It's well documented that the man he replaced in the line-up today has chronic i sues with his nerves before big occasions like this, and it rather unsurprisingly rubbed off on the young Sierra Leonean, thanks in no small part to his tough task up against impre sive Liverpool new boy Luis Diaz and Man. Struggled to keep pace with the pair and was heavily targeted as a result - Toronto Raptors T-Shirts but he did nonethele s did enough to keep them at bay and his confidence definitely grew as the game wore on.Thiago Silva - 9/10Chelsea's clear contender for player of the season added another performance to his stellar portfolio. His reading of the game and defensive know-how is second to none - in the literal sense of the accolade - as evidenced by his incredible recovery run to clear off the line from Salah's dink.Antonio Rdiger - 7/10Some of the German's last-ditch interceptions and interventions were impeccable, but what was most impre sive was his leadership. The former AS Roma man was constantly in the wars, standing up for his teammates and haranguing referee Stuart Attwell when his decisions were questionable at best. Chelsea may mi s that leadership unle s his contractual situation is sorted out sooner rather than later.Csar Azpilicueta - 6/10 57 Bust a gut to get up and down the right flank, setting up a couple of handy chances and providing much more of an outlet than his colleague on the other wing. Will have been disappointed to have had to withdraw from injury, testament to the tirele s work he has had to put his body through in Reece James' own absence through injury. No matter what happens in the summer, the one undeniable truth is that the man they affectionately nickname as Dave has picked up a fair few 'pots' in his time in royal Blue - even if he couldn't add another today.N'Golo Kant- 7/10It was scrappy and it was battling, but he was key on the day for Chelsea. His energy and work rate adding some sorely needed steel to a staunch rearguard. Could have added some metal of his own to his collection, as this League Cup would have meant the Frenchman 'completed' club football a little over two weeks after his aforementioned Serge Ibaka Jersey skipper did so too. But it wasn't to be.Scroll to ContinueMateo Kovacic - 7/10 105 The Croatian was one of very few who was being proactive and releasing the ball early during periods of heavy Chelsea po se sion. His normally consistently infallible beating of the pre s eluded him against Klopp's well documented gegenpre s, but this was nonethele s a positive showing in a fixture of the utmost quality.Marcos Alonso - 4/10Took an absolute beating up against the formidable duo of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah, which came as little surprise to anyone. They played rings Pascal Siakam Jersey around him as if he wasn't there, and he doesn't po se s the raw pace to trouble the former. Where he usually makes up that deficiency is his instinctual movement, yet there were three occurrences where he could have been in on goal if his reading of the game was better.Mason Mount - 4/10 73 Guilty of letting Alexander-Arnold into the game in the first half, with some uncharacteristically poor defensive contributions (or lack thereof) on his behalf. Even guiltier of mi sing a gilt-edged chance on the stroke of half-time, and guiltier still after hitting the post with the goal gaping and in acres of space. Will be having nightmares tonight, as will this writer and the Chelsea fanbase after a dismal lack of clinicalne s.Christian Pulisic - 6/10 73 One hundred appearances and not out for the American, and this will have been one of the sweetest of the lot. Couldn't replicate the goalscoring heroics he produced in the thrilling draw with today's opponents at Stamford Bridge in Jan