Once a place of triumph, Wembley has truly turned into a venue of disappointment for Chelsea.
Across recent seasons, the west London outfit have suffered defeats in key finals: the 2019 League Cup loss to Manchester City under Maurizio Sarri, Arsenal’s victory over Frank Lampard’s squad in the 2020 FA Cup, and Thomas Tuchel’s side’s defeat to Leicester City in the 2021 FA Cup.
Tuchel’s Chelsea were again bested in both the 2022 EFL and FA Cup finals to Liverpool – notably on penalties after goalless draws – and Mauricio Pochettino’s men have only added to the woes with a League Cup final loss to Liverpool in February,
And now this.
This was a 1-0 semi-final defeat against a City team fatigued and frustrated from a recent Champions League exit.
So what went wrong this time? Read on as 90min gives you their take…
Chelsea rued a string of missed opportunities as they succumbed to a youthful and injury-plagued Liverpool in back in February. That sense of ‘what if’ resurfaced as Bernardo Silva’s late goal secured victory for City on Saturday, leaving Chelsea to ponder their chances once more.
Nicolas Jackson will undoubtedly be making headlines nationwide after the abundance of opportunities he had for Chelsea at Wembley.
It’s worth mentioning that the Senegalese striker proved to be quite a handful, consistently pressuring City’s tired defence with his speed. However, this positive impact will unfortunately be overshadowed by the chances he failed to convert.
In what could be considered his prime opportunity, Jackson broke the offside trap, rounded goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, but failed to shoot. Later, he squandered another one-on-one, and then had a couple of other chances in the second half that lacked the necessary conviction.
It was a bad afternoon for Jackson and Pochettino will certainly now know that if Cole Palmer does not score, goals will be hard to come by in this current Chelsea team.
Pochettino and his men will recount a tale of hard luck, as referee Michael Oliver opted not to award a penalty during this clash at Wembley.
Just before the hour mark, hotshot Palmer positioned himself for a free-kick just outside City‘s 18-yard box. And despite his best efforts, his strike was blocked by the wall of players standing before him.
However, Chelsea’s players were instant in their appeals to the referee as the ball…
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