Chelsea may have suffered more Wembley misery in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, but Thomas Tuchel showed himself as the long-term option for the club.Liverpool won the incredible final on Sunday afternoon as it went the distance after it was a stalemate, 0-0, at the end of extra-time. , inflicting in their previous six outings at Wembley.Fine margins in football meant there had to be a winner at Wembley. The two Premier League meetings between the sides this season have both ended in draws (1-1 and 2-2). The final was always going to be close, it proved to be just that and more.Despite defeat at Wembley, Tuchel was proud of his side’s Paul Thompson Women Jersey performance against Liverpool and insists he had ‘no regrets’. the Blues head coach said post-match.Wembley is no longer a happy ground for Chelsea in recent times. Tuchel lost their in the FA Cup final last season and Sunday was his chance of redemption.Although it didn’t work out, he didn’t put a foot wrong on the day, it was just the finishing which Chelsea lacked. , with Mason Mount coming into the side for Hakim Ziyech as well as Trevoh Chalobah replacing Andreas Christensen.Edouard Mendy was brought back into the Carabao Cup fold, while Romelu Lukaku was benched.The big selection decisions paid off. Chelsea’s high pre sing line caused Liverpool problems early on and they should’ve been ahead after six minutes. Cesar Azpilicueta played a ball into Christian Pulisic’s path from the right-hand side but he could only direct his Frank Vatrano Women Jersey effort straight atCaoimhin Kelleher.Scroll to ContinueMason Mount had other chances for Chelsea, hitting one agonisingly wide in a near Evgenii Dadonov Jersey identical position to Pulisic’s chance. But his golden opportunity to break the deadlock at Wembley came four minutes in the second-half. The 23-year-old was slotted in and he was one-on-one with Kelleher, however his effort came back off the post to Tuchel’s dismay as he dropped to his knees on the touchline in disbelief.Tuchel’s decision to bring Mendy back in at Wembley was vindicated. The Senegalese produced an outstanding double save to deny Naby Keita’s initial effort from the edge of the area, before somehow saving Sadio Mane’s shot from yards out.The Chelsea bo s waited until the 74th minute to bring Lukaku and Timo Werner on, and the Belgium international may have produced a performance which could be a key turning point for him amid all of the recent talk over his role in the side moving forward.Lukaku almost won the final for Chelsea in stoppage time but his flick at the near post was kept out by Kelleher, taking the game to extra-time. He scored seven minutes into extra-time but it was controversially ruled out for offside. Neither side could find a winner in the capital, which saw Tuchel bring on Kepa, a pre-planned decision, for the penalties.It was the only decision that backfired, and what Tuchel got ‘wrong’, Aleksi Heponiemi Jersey although he cannot be blamed for the decision. As penalty after penalty was scored, it reached 10-10 and it was down to the goalkeepers.Kelleher stepped up… and scored. The pre sure was on Kepa… but he could only blaze his effort into the stands to hand Liverpool their record ninth League Troy Brouwer Kids Jersey Cup.Tuchel took full responsibility at full-time of the decision to bring Kepa on for penalties. The fault doesn’t sit at the Spaniard’s door, nor at Tuchel’s. .Chelsea and Tuchel did everything right at Wembley other than put the ball in the back of the net legally (had three goals ruled out for offside).He speaks well, he manages well, and his tactics are spot on, particularly in one-off games. It didn’t work out on Sunday but Chelsea are lucky to have Tuchel and a fifth final in 14 months, that’s an impre sive record. Long may that continue, it’s now a case of getting over the domestic cup final hurdle.Follow Absolute Chelsea on: | | |