Chelsea Player Ratings V Liverpool: One Player Gets 4/10 While Five Others Get 5

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino revealed that his team played for penalties in extra-time despite facing a seriously understrength Liverpool side in the Carabao Cup final.

It is a stunning admission and one that leaves many fans questioning whether the Argentinian is the right man to take this team forward.

Of course, the Blues should have won the game in 90 minutes anyway. They had enough opportunities to do so and the players will be wondering how they lost.

Press the next page as we give player ratings for the game at Wembley on Sunday evening.

Goalkeeper and Defence

GK – Djordje Petrovic – 8/10 – made some great saves, particularly the one from Harvey Elliott deep into extra time.

RB – Malo Gusto – 7/10 – the Frenchman was very good defensively, making some big interceptions and keeping Luis Diaz quiet. However, he did struggle in possession, with some uncharacteristic miscontrols of the ball.

CB – Malo Disasi – 6/10 – excellent when clearing his lines but he was found wanting in possession. A couple of mistakes went unpunished, luckily for him, but he is suspect on the ball.

CB – Levi Colwill – 7/10 – looked nervous early on in the game but he put in several blocks; most notably to stop a goal-bound effort from Conor Bradley.

LB – Ben Chilwell – 5/10 – the captain was well off his game. Didn’t offer a great deal going forward and got booked after a disagreement with Bradley.

Midfield

CM – Moises Caicedo – 5/10 – the Ecuadorian is not well suited to being a lone no.6. He gave away too many fouls and looked lost at times.

Some argued that the midfielder should have been punished for his tackle on Ryan Gravenberch. It certainly wasn’t a red card as it was more clumsy than reckless.

CM – Enzo Fernandez – 4/10 – his final ball and decision-making were poor, which is not what you should expect from a £107m player. There was one chance in the first half where he back-heeled the ball trying to score when he should have passed it to Cole Palmer, who would have had a tap-in.

AM – Conor Gallagher – 6/10 – you could not fault the midfielder’s effort but he had no composure in front of goal. As well as blasting a shot over the bar and hitting the post, he fluffed a one-on-one chance. That lack of end product is stopping him from being an elite player.

Forwards

RW – Cole Palmer – 7/10 – should have scored with an effort that was saved at point-blank range from Caoimhin Kelleher in the first half. The 21-year-old didn’t let it affect him, though, as he kept plugging away; getting on the ball and trying to make things happen.

CF – Nicolas Jackson – 7/10 – the Senegalese international exploited the Reds’ high line constantly. Unlucky to be flagged after a good run and cross for Raheem Sterling’s offside goal.

He also got in behind Liverpool’s defence in the second half but he couldn’t get his shot away before Ibrahima Konate got back into position. The striker was dangerous but not deadly.

LW – Raheem Sterling – 5/10 – scored a goal that was chalked off for offside but the winger was ineffective for the most part. He had another chance in the build-up to Palmer’s miss but his control let him down.

Substitutes

Christopher Nkunku – 5/10 – it was slightly surprising to see him left out of the starting lineup considering his quality but he didn’t make much of an impact after replacing Sterling, despite being on the pitch for almost 55 minutes (including extra time).

It’s fair to say that the attacking midfielder hasn’t really looked himself since returning from his latest injury.

Mykhailo Mudryk – 5/10 – made very little impression on proceedings after replacing Jackson just before full-time.

Noni Madueke – 6/10 – was lively but wasted some decent openings.

Trevoh Chalobah – N/A