Thomas Tuchel demands Chelsea 'consistency' after FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool

Blues come up short in shootout once again following a goalless 120 minutes at Wembley

Liverpool's Kostas Tsimikas celebrates scoring the winning penalty against Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, on May 14. PA

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson lifts the trophy. AP

Liverpool fans celebrate at Wembley Stadium. AP

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp celebrates with the trophy. AFP

Thiago Alcantara and Mohamed Salah celebrate. Getty

Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool celebrate with The Emirates FA Cup. Getty

Liverpool players celebrate at the end of the FA Cup final. AP

Liverpool celebrate winning the Emirates FA Cup. PA

Chelsea's Mason Mount after missing a penalty. Getty

Chelsea's Edouard Mendy saves from Sadio Mane in the penalty shootout. Getty

Liverpool's Diogo Jota scores their sixth penalty. Getty

Sadio Mane reacts after missing his penalty. AP

Chelsea players after Liverpool's Sadio Mane misses a penalty. Action Images

Chelsea's players gather prior to the penalty shootout. AFP

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp shakes hands with Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel. AFP

Liverpool goalkepeer Alisson Becker in action. EPA

Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp at Wembley. AP

Chelsea's Marcos Alonso in action against Trent Alexander-Arnold. EPA

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is consoled by Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara after going down with an injury. Getty

Liverpool striker Diogo Jota reacts after missing a chance to score. AFP

Thomas Tuchel has called on Chelsea to be more consistent, both on and off the pitch, after witnessing his side fall to a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Liverpool in Saturday's FA Cup final.

The London club have been in a state of turmoil in recent months after Russian owner Roman Abramovich put the club up for sale following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the British government then imposed strict controls on the club.

Tuchel said Liverpool and Premier League leaders Manchester City were winning matches week after week, showing the rewards of their long-term planning.

"They are very, very, very consistent and we are in the opposite situation at the moment, given the sanctions. Players are leaving," the German said.

Antonio Rudiger, a lynchpin of Chelsea's defence, will depart the club at the end of this season and fellow defender Andreas Christensen is also expected to leave.

Tuchel turned around Chelsea's fortunes dramatically when he replaced Frank Lampard as manager in January 2021 and he led the Blues to a Champions League triumph just four months later.

Chelsea made it to the FA Cup final in 2021, when they were beaten by Leicester City, as well as the League Cup final in February this year when they also lost to Liverpool on penalties.

But they have struggled to find their rhythm in the Premier League and they sit in third place, 19 points behind leaders Manchester City and 16 behind Liverpool. However, Chelsea have collected some silverware this season, winning the European Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup.

FA Cup final player ratings

"We can produce peak performances and we have the mentality in the club to shape the mentality of the players to have these peak performances," he said.

"But over the last years Man City and Liverpool proved that you have to obviously deliver that on a level of consistency that we don't have and we struggled with it."

Tuchel said his side struggled in the first 15 minutes of Saturday's encounter with Liverpool when the Reds missed a string of chances before they clawed their way back into the match which turned into an end-to-end contest.

He praised his players for stopping "maybe the most dangerous attacking team in the world" from scoring in two finals that both went to extra time in the space of three months.