Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says his side “need to feel the pain” after losing the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool at Wembley.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk scored the winning goal for the Reds with just two minutes of extra time left.
“They need to feel the pain,” Pochettino said.
“We played for a trophy we didn’t get. Now it’s the same, what can you tell me to feel better? Nothing.”
Chelsea will feel they missed a big opportunity to lift silverware against a Liverpool side missing injured players including Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, Alisson Becker and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Blues had a number of clear-cut chances during the game with Cole Palmer denied by an excellent Caoimhin Kelleher stop before Conor Gallagher hit the post and then had a good opportunity also saved by Kelleher.
As the game neared the closing stages of normal time, Chelsea somehow failed to take the lead in a scramble in the Liverpool box with Christopher Nkunku, Gallagher and Malo Gusto all involved.
They have now lost six successive Wembley finals – three against Liverpool – and Pochettino is still searching for his first trophy in England.
“We are very competitive and now we need to move forward,” the Chelsea boss added. “They [the players] need to feel the pain like us.
“They need to realise that we need to work more, do better things. We need to improve and compete in this level against a side that in the last five, six, seven years has competed for big things.
“It’s about arriving here first and then feel what it means to play for a big trophy. I remember after three, four years they lost the Champions League [final], they lost the Europa League [final].
“They keep believing in the project and in the next season [got] stronger until they got what they wanted.
“That is a good example, Liverpool. We want to challenge a team like Liverpool. [We should not be] frustrated today because we didn’t get the trophy. We need to keep believing as that is the most important thing.”
Chelsea finished the 90 minutes stronger than Liverpool but seemed to sit back during extra time. In his post-match news conference Pochettino said: “I think the team started to feel that penalties might be good for us”.
Gary Neville, speaking on the Sky Sports coverage of the match, said Chelsea “bottled” their chance to win a trophy as Liverpool were without so many key players and had introduced a number of academy graduates from the bench.
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Pochettino added: “I think if you compare the age of the two groups it’s similar. I have a good relationship with Gary. I don’t know how I can take this opinion but I respect his opinion.
“We made a few changes like Gallagher and Chilwell in extra time. It is true we didn’t keep the energy how we finished the second half.
“I don’t know how you can describe this situation. I feel proud of the players. I think they made a big effort.
“We are a young team and nothing to compare with Liverpool because they finish with also a few young players. It is impossible to compare.
“He [Neville] knows that the dynamics are completely different. I think it is not fair to talk in this way. We are going to keep believing in this project and see what we can do in the future.”
For Pochettino this is a huge blow in a match that could have been a significant moment in his Chelsea project.
Not only is he still looking for his first trophy in English football but without picking up the EFL Cup the rest of this season comes under mounting scrutiny.
Chelsea had opportunities to win the match and the way Pochettino’s side backed off in extra time will be questioned.
There have been times when Pochettino has come under pressure throughout the season but the possibility of trophies and European football has always been pointed as a marker of how things are going.
Now Chelsea have lost this final, their only chance of silverware this season comes in the FA Cup and they take on Leeds United at Stamford Bridge in just three days.
Pochettino will have a challenge to pick up his young squad to ensure the campaign does not completely unravel inside a week.
Chelsea are nine points from sixth and 17 points from the Champions League qualification spots in the Premier League table, so winning the FA Cup is currently one of their most realistic chances of qualifying for European football.
