Chelsea news: Thomas Tuchel eager for another Wembley return

Chelsea lost the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool in a heart-breaking fashion after suffering a penalty shootout defeat. In an evenly fought game on Sunday, the Blues matched the Reds toe-to-toe throughout the regulation time but were not able to find a breakthrough. Both sides had goals disallowed – Joel Matip for Liverpool and Kai Havertz (two) and Romelu Lukaku for Chelsea. Besides, both goalkeepers – Caoimhin Kelleher and Edouard Mendy – also needed to stay alert for the entire duration, making timely saves to keep the score remain goalless after 120 minutes of action. In the end, Liverpool prevailed in a lengthy penalty shoot-out 11-10 after Chelsea’s goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga skied his kick over the crossbar. 

Thomas Tuchel has tasted defeat in both his Wembley finals as Chelsea manager after losing last season’s FA Cup final against Leicester City. The German would love to be part of another Wembley final, which might happen in the form of the FA Cup. However, the manager is not thinking too far ahead, as he wants to take it one step at a time, starting with the fifth-round tie against Luton Town. “We want to go back and of course as soon as possible,” said Tuchel, as per their club’s website. “If you want to reach the top of the mountain you need to go from base camp to base camp. The next step is Luton. As boring as it may sound, we cannot waste any energy with feelings of revenge or feelings that we have to still prove something.”

READ MORE – Thomas Tuchel defends Kepa’s decisive miss in shoot-out defeat

Tuchel: The match we played was even more satisfying

Tuchel might have lost his two previous Wembley finals, but he still considers those experiences as positive ones. “Of course it’s always like this, but the experiences, both of them were great. The first one, as a German coach to be in an FA Cup final, so full of history, was brilliant. The last match was even better because it was a full stadium with the crowd and the match we played was even more satisfying,” he added.

“It will stick with me as a very positive memory because I’m happy with how we played it and that I had the chance to be part of it. And of course we’re addicted to it, everybody is in high-level sports. Once you’ve tasted it you want to have more.”

Despite losing Sunday’s final to Liverpool, Tuchel was happy with the performance. “I will never stop loving this game that we played. If we win a title, we win a title. If we don’t win a title I cannot jump off a building. As long as we play like this, with full commitment and quality in games like this, I am a happy coach,” he explained.

“Can I guarantee titles? No, I never did. At the end of the season it is the end of the season, then we will talk about it. In the middle of a marathon we cannot ask the people if they are happy if they stay in this place, because nobody knows if they stay in this place. So let’s see at the end of the race and then we can talk about the race and if we are happy with the outcome. In the middle of the race we focus on the race. This is where we are, tomorrow is the next step.”