Where are they now? Chelsea’s XI from the 2022 League Cup final
Chelsea lost on penalties to Liverpool after a goalless draw in the 2022 League Cup final – & their squad was soon to change dramatically.
Within 18 months of the match at Wembley, no fewer than 13 of Chelsea’s starting line-up and used substitutes had left Stamford Bridge following Todd Boehly’s takeover in May 2022.
We’ve done some digging to discover what each of Chelsea’s players from the final are up to in 2024.
GK: Edouard Mendy (Kepa Arrizabalaga 120′)
Mendy was a Chelsea hero during his early days at Stamford Bridge, playing a key role in the club’s Champions League triumph in 2021.
Despite being the Blues’ No. 1, the Senegal international didn’t feature in the Carabao Cup that season until the final – and he was still subbed at the end of extra-time.
After falling out of form and favour, Mendy left Stamford Bridge for Al-Hilal in 2023 and is now first choice at the Saudi Pro League club.
Kepa’s rollercoaster spell at Stamford Bridge is well-documented, perhaps summarised by him missing the crucial penalty in the shoot-out at Wembley.
The Spaniard was offloaded to Real Madrid on a season-long loan in August 2023, replacing the injured Thibaut Courtois at the Bernabeu.
After injuries and some unconvincing performances, Kepa has now been dropped in favour of Andriy Lunin. His £71million move to Chelsea in 2018 is still a world-record fee for a goalkeeper.
RWB: Cesar Azpilicueta (Reece James 57′)
Chelsea fans have plenty of fond Azpilicueta memories to treasure, but the defender decided to move on last summer after a whopping 508 appearances for the club.
After joining Atletico Madrid on a free transfer, the 34-year-old has been a regular in Diego Simeone’s mean backline.
Meanwhile, James remains at Stamford Bridge but has endured a torrid run of injuries that has hampered his career.
The defender missed the 2022 World Cup and underwent hamstring surgery in December 2023. The club captain has only played nine times in 2023-24.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah
Chalobah enjoyed a breakout season in 2021-22, impressing under Thomas Tuchel and making 30 appearances as the club lost both domestic cup finals.
The defender made another 33 appearances the following season, but has been frozen out by Mauricio Pochettino and has not played this season due to injuries.
Now aged 24, Chalobah is up for sale at Chelsea and almost joined Bayern Munich in August 2023. His future looks like being away from Stamford Bridge.
CB: Thiago Silva
Even in the twilight years of his career, Silva oozes class and has been an incredibly successful signing for Chelsea
He has remained an integral player under Mauricio Pochettino, although some would question his continued place in the starting XI, but his contract at Stamford Bridge is set to expire in the summer.
The 39-year-old has remained tight-lipped over his future amid links to Brazilian outfit Fluminense. He’ll certainly receive a heroes goodbye at the end of his Chelsea spell
CB: Antonio Rudiger
Rudiger has slotted seamlessly into Real Madrid’s backline since joining the club in 2022 and remains the weirdest footballer around. We be he killed ants with a magnifying class as a child…
READ: We have further proof that Antonio Rudiger is the weirdest guy in football
LWB: Marcos Alonso
Having racked up over 200 appearances for Chelsea, Alonso was an important member of the group that regularly lifted silverware in the 2010s. He spent a total of six years at the club before joining Barcelona in 2022.
The 33-year-old still plays for the Catalan giants today, although he’s not played much in 2023-24 due to injury. With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, it’s likely that he’ll be on the move again.
CM: N’Golo Kante
Chelsea paid just £32million to land the French midfielder which has to be seen as one of the deals of the century.
After enjoying seven years with the club and collecting six trophies and thousands of hearts along the way, Kante exited in the summer of 2023 and joined Saudi outfit Al-Ittihad.
However, since moving to Saudi Arabia, things haven’t been particularly smooth sailing for the 32-year-old. Al-Ittihad have fallen well below expectations this season and players like Kante will be expected to step up and transform their fortunes.
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CM: Mateo Kovacic (Jorginho 106′)
Kovacic was always an underrated operator and Pep Guardiola swooped to sign the Croatia midfielder to replace Ilkay Gundogan at Manchester City after the 2022-23 season.
The midfielder has played 26 times in all competitions as City remain in contention to repeat their treble-winning success of last year.
Jorginho was sold to Arsenal in January, where he has been in and out of the starting line-up. He’s only managed five Premier League starts this season, although Arteta clearly values his impact on the squad.
“I’m really happy with Jorgi, I think we all are,” Arteta told reporters in January. “He contributes a lot and makes the team better.”
The 32-year-old does have admirers in Italy, although it remains to be seen if Arsenal will offer him a contract extension this summer.
CAM: Mason Mount (Romelu Lukaku 74′)
Of all of Chelsea’s departures last summer, Mount’s move to Manchester United was arguably the most surprising.
The midfielder admitted it was tough to leave Stamford Bridge, but also recognised that he was after a fresh challenge after stagnating under Graham Potter.
Sadly, the move northwards has yet to truly spark; Mount has spent several months out injured, has lost his England place and it’s a struggle to see where he fits in United’s best XI.
Just a few months after signing for £97.5million, Lukaku gave a controversial interview to Sky Italia where he fired several shots at Thomas Tuchel. Understandably so, this didn’t go down very well.
The relationship between Tuchel and Lukaku never really recovered from that point and the striker was only a substitute during the League Cup final.
He’s spent the last two seasons out on loan, first at Inter Milan and now Roma. He’s scored 16 goals in 31 games for the latter in 2023-24.
CAM: Christian Pulisic (Timo Werner 74′)
Sometimes a change of scenery is needed to revive the career of a struggling star – and that’s certainly been the case for Pulisic, who hasn’t looked back since signing for AC Milan.
The United States international has hit the ground running in Italy with seven goals and six assists in 23 Serie A appearances of the 2023-24 campaign.
Werner was already a punchline by 2022 after struggling to justify his £48million price tag at Chelsea. Nobody was surprised when the Germany international returned to RB Leipzig that summer.
What was more surprising was that Werner also failed to catch fire back in the Bundesliga – Leipzig were more than happy to loan the forward to Tottenham in January 2024. The striker is yet to score for Spurs.
READ: Is Christian Pulisic overrated? His jaw-dropping golazo should finally end the debate
ST: Kai Havertz
Chelsea fans will always be thankful for that goal against Manchester City, but Havertz never exactly pulled up many trees during his Stamford Bridge stint.
There’s a feeling that Chelsea never managed to find the best role for Havertz during his time at the club and the Blues accepted a £65million offer from Arsenal in the summer of 2023.
An indifferent start to his Gunners career raised eyebrows, but Havertz looks to have settled now he has a defined role in Mikel Arteta’s side and has featured in all but one of their matches.
“I love him,” Arteta said last week. “We all love him, as a player, as a person, for everything that he brings. He is a joy to work with.”
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