Chelsea squad fuelled by ‘unfinished business’ with their Wembley failures

Chelsea will have to overcome a Wembley curse to lift their first domestic trophy since 2018 after booking a place in the final of the Carabao Cup with Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva admitting they have “unfinished business” at the national stadium.

Chilwell and Silva are yet to win a domestic trophy at Chelsea, with the club losing three Wembley finals during their time at Stamford Bridge and the club losing their past six attempts to win silverware under the famous arch, stretching back to 2018.

Ominously, Chelsea’s last two Wembley defeats, which Silva played in, came two years ago against Liverpool, who booked another final date with the club by beating Fulham. Chilwell missed those games, but, along with the Brazilian, was part of the 2021 FA Cup final defeat to his former club Leicester City.

Before the defeat by Leicester, Chelsea lost to Arsenal in the 2020 FA Cup final and were beaten by Manchester City in the final of the Carabao Cup the previous season, having also lost to Pep Guardiola’s team in the 2018 Community Shield.

Chelsea’s last success at Wembley came in May 2018, when Antonio Conte’s side won the FA Cup by beating Manchester United in the final. Mauricio Pochettino ironically lost his only Wembley final as a manager to Chelsea with Tottenham Hotspur in the 2015 League Cup.

Chilwell and Silva had not even got changed after booking their place in another Wembley final by thrashing Middlesbrough in the second leg of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final this week before attention turned to improving their own losing records.

Addressing their time at the club, Chilwell said: “It’s three finals we’ve lost, so 100 per cent there is unfinished business.

“I was talking to Thiago in the shower [after the Middlesbrough game] and saying how we’ve got unfinished business at Wembley. We’ve both been there three times and Chelsea have lost three times, so, for sure, we want to go and win.”

Silva added: “Now we have another final at Wembley. If I’m not mistaken, the three times I went there, I lost all three. So, I think it is time to win, right?”

James’ return date remains unclear

Reece James, the Chelsea captain, is not expected to return to fitness in time for the Carabao Cup final on Feb 25, but he also knows the importance of trying to end the Wembley hoodoo, having played in the club’s past four final defeats.

In his official programme notes for the Middlesbrough semi-final second leg, James wrote: “Reaching finals isn’t really an achievement in itself – we’ve reached finals before and picked up the silver medal, which is not what you want at the end of a cup run. We believe we have everything it takes to go on to the final and then to go all the way.”

Other than Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr, who are available for transfer and have not played this season, Chilwell, Silva and James are the only remaining members of the Chelsea squad who played any part in any of the past three Wembley final defeats.

The trio all played in the 2021 Champions League success and Chilwell believes the Carabao Cup final will give a number of Chelsea’s young players crucial experience.

“As a group, we need to make sure that we go and really enjoy the experience and soak it in,” Chilwell said. “That’s equally important for a group like ours because there’s only a few of us who have won a trophy at Chelsea and it’s a club that demands trophies, so we need to make sure we go to win. But, also, it’s going to be a great experience for a lot of the players and they need to enjoy it as well.”

Chilwell eager to show leadership qualities

As Chelsea’s vice-captain and with James recovering from hamstring surgery, Chilwell is on course to lead Chelsea out at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final. The left-back disclosed how his leadership role helped his comeback after starting his first game since September against Middlesbrough.

“I had a conversation with the manager a few days after I got injured and said, ‘Now that I’m injured and I can’t help on the pitch, how do you want me to help away from it? How can I use my brain in other ways to stimulate myself and help the team in other ways?’ Chilwell said.

“It was more that leadership role, making sure that I’m in meetings, making sure that I’m talking, making sure that I’m helping the young boys because, of course, for a few of them it’s a big step to come to Chelsea and play in front of, rightfully so, demanding fans that want us to win because they are so used to that. So, it was just trying to help out as much as possible while I was injured.

“It is tough, of course, you want to be playing football. I’ve missed some great games of football, some games I’d have loved to have been involved in, but it is important to make sure when I get back I’m ready and that, mentally and physically, I’m in the best shape I can be in to help the team.

“I felt really good and I’m buzzing to be back. I had the armband on, the stadium was rocking. I had a great reception, like I always do when I come here. I love playing at Stamford Bridge, the fans are always so good to me and I’m looking forward to Wembley.”

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