It has been two years since Liverpool beat Chelsea in the 2022 EFL Cup final, and looking ahead to this weekend’s showpiece only three of Chelsea’s squad that day remain at the club.
Since the Reds defeated Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea on penalties in February 2022, the two teams have been on completely different paths.
From the match-day squad in the 2022 final only Thiago Silva, Trevor Chalobah and Reece James are still at the club, with James and Silva ruled out of this final due to injuries.
It indicates the vast amount of change that Chelsea have endured since then, with long-term and successful, owner Roman Abramovich departing the club and being replaced by Clearlake Capital, who are headed by Todd Boehly and Behded Eghbali.
Along with a huge amount of player turnover, the club have had four different managers since Tuchel was sacked at the start of the 2023/24 season.
Graham Potter stepped in to replace the German but struggled to build consistency and was eventually let go, with Bruno Salter and Frank Lampard guiding the club to the end of the season.
Now Mauricio Pochettino has the chance to win his first piece of silverware as a manager in England and leads a completely new look Chelsea out at Wembley.
But as all this change has come through at Stamford Bridge, success has gotten further, and further away, and when you compare it to Sunday’s opponents, Liverpool have proven that consistency is a vital asset to any winning team.
From Liverpool’s victorious side in 2022, 12 of the 20-man squad are still at the club, with the players that started that day continuing to play important roles as Liverpool lead the Premier League.
But what has hindered Jurgen Klopp ahead of this final is his team is ravaged by injuries. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones and Joel Matip won’t be featuring in this edition.
They are joined by Dominik Szoboszlai who, signed to be a key figure in midfield due to Thiago’s injury issues, is now on the sidelines himself.
The Hungarian was part of the heavy revamp on the midfield that Klopp undertook, with his 2022 midfield of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita leaving for Alexis MacAllister, Szoboszlai and Waturo Endo to come in.
Liverpool took a more gradual approach to their rebuild, with a few moves each summer but Chelsea attempted to clear out the unwanted players and bring in their top targets all in two windows.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe front three in 2022 of Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz had all been broken up by 2023, with Raheem Sterling, Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson now leading the line.
Sitting behind them is where Chelsea have spent their most, with two of their £100-million-pound signings Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez looking like they are starting to create a partnership with Conor Gallagher.
As Chelsea were quick to get rid of a lot of players that were under Abramovich’s regime, they have also lost experienced winners and leaders in the dressing room such as N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta.
That void has been evident at points during this season, but with Chelsea losing their last five finals at Wembley, a new generation might bring new fortune. If Liverpool’s know-how can take advantage of the naivety and inexperience that Chelsea show, the EFL Cup could return to Merseyside this weekend.
