Thomas Tuchel's attempt to overthink things backfires and costs Chelsea in FA Cup final
In the 90th minute, Jamie Vardy went into a tussle with Thiago Silva on the right flank and the striker managed to get a corner for his troubles.
Sensing a quiet crowd behind the Chelsea goal, Vardy immediately signaled to the Leicester City fans to cheer. The fans duly obliged with a raucous cheer.
The Foxes were leading Chelsea 1-0 in the final of the FA Cup and, at that moment, Vardy and everyone else inside Wembley Stadium knew the result was dusted.
Chelsea have been on an impressive run since Thomas Tuchel joined the club in January, but their performance in the FA Cup final raises some concerns.
Not that Leicester City were exceptional on the day, but it was the Blues’ own lack of productivity that contributed to their defeat.
Blues largely passive and lethargic in FA Cup final
This was meant to be the first trophy in the Tuchel era. Rather, it could become the beginning of the unraveling of everything the German manager has achieved so far.
Winning the FA Cup would have been a huge confidence booster ahead of Tuesday’s must-win top four decider against Brendan Rodgers’ side.
However, Youri Tielemans’ incredible long-range strike ensured Chelsea went home disappointed and empty-handed.
The Blues played with little intensity and created very little at the other end. Until the last 15 minutes, Tuchel’s side were largely passive and lethargic and were duly punished for it.
Leicester City may not have put up an extraordinary performance, but they clearly had a game plan and executed it perfectly to claim a deserved win.
Thomas Tuchel complicates things for himself
For much of the last three months, it’s been all praise for Thomas Tuchel following his transformation at Chelsea. However, he has badly let the team down in the last two games.
He made too many changes in the defeat to Arsenal in midweek and once again overcomplicated things for himself in the FA Cup final.
While Leicester City put out their strongest line-up, Tuchel made a series of baffling changes. Kepa Arrizabalaga replaced Edouard Mendy in goal, while Christian Pulisic, Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz were all left on the bench.
Tuchel also surprisingly picked Cesar Azpilicueta as the right wing-back and played Reece James as part of a back-three. Suffice to say that these decisions badly backfired.
“Of course we're disappointed but we're not angry, not with our performance and not with our boys,” Tuchel said after the game, as quoted by Chelseafc.com.
“I think this performance in this game is enough to win. Today we were simply unlucky, we've never hidden the fact you need luck to win at this level. All the time you needed a certain momentum, you need some little details and decision-making.”
Indeed, decision-making was the bane of Chelsea in the FA Cup final and Tuchel himself was culpable. He abandoned the simple decisions and attempted to overthink things, which eventually cost his side.