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Chelsea duo desperate for Wembley revenge as Blues to face Liverpool in Carabao Cup final
Two Chelsea players are especially keen on lifting the Carabao Cup trophy by defeating Liverpool at Wembley.
Pochettino 'desperate' to win a trophy at Chelsea
Chelsea star Ben Chilwell has opened up on his shower conversations with Thiago Silva and how the pair have an added motivation for next month’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s side booked their place at Wembley with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Fulham, following Chelsea’s second-leg rout of Middlesbrough the previous day.
The Blues’ vice-captain returned from a three-month injury lay-off in the victory over Middlesbrough and is aiming for revenge at Wembley, where Chelsea have lost six of their last seven finals - including twice against Liverpool.
Chilwell similarly has lost all three of his Chelsea finals at the national stadium, something he shares with Silva and they have discussed breaking their Wembley hoodoo together under Mauricio Pochettino.
“It’s three finals we’ve lost in my time here, so 100 per cent there is unfinished business at Wembley,” Chilwell said. "I was talking to Thiago (Silva) in the shower and saying how we’ve both been there three times and lost all three.
“For sure, we want to go there and win this time and, as a group, we need to make sure that we really enjoy the experience and soak it in. 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. We need to make sure we go there to win, but it’s also going to be a great experience for a lot of the players and they need to enjoy it as well.”
Pochettino himself has the opportunity to claim his first piece of silverware in England, having turned a small corner after a disappointing start to life at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have won four of their last five Premier League games and Chilwell is hoping for success in both domestic cups this season, starting with Friday’s FA Cup tie with Aston Villa.
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“We’re still fighting for two domestic cups, we’ve got a final and now we’ve got another massive game with Villa,” Chilwell added. “We’re not happy getting to one final - we want to get to the FA Cup final as well.
"It’s eight out of nine wins at the Bridge, so it’s really becoming a good place for us to play again. I think that connection between the fans and the players is starting to come back, which is so important.”
Chilwell revealed that he discussed how to become more of a leader to Chelsea’s young squad during his time on the sidelines and he could be key for Pochettino in the second half of the season, as the Blues aim to work their way back up the Premier League table and fight for two cups.