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
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CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy - 8. The 30-year-old had to be quick off the line to cut out danger. He was secure and showed off his shot-stopping qualities, especially in saving from Mane in the shootout. Reuters -
Trevoh Chalobah - 6. The 22-year-old was tormented by Diaz but grew into the game as the defence adjusted. There were times he looked tentative and vulnerable to crosses. Azpilicueta came on for him for the second period of extra time. AP -
Thiago Silva - 7. The 37-year-old was composed at the centre of defence but most of the trouble came down the flanks. He was a calming presence apart from the odd moment of wayward distribution. AFP -
Antonio Rudiger - 8. The German’s side of the pitch was more secure in the first period and he handled Salah well until the Egyptian’s departure. He was robust in the tackle and showed off his pace when chasing Mane down in extra time. AP -
Reece James - 7. The 22-year-old needed to be more restrained after Liverpool’s early barrage but began to range forward as the game went on. He balanced attacking and coping with Diaz well. Scored in the penalty shootout. AFP -
Jorginho - 7. The Italian could not get to grips with Liverpool’s speed of passing but became more influential when Chelsea squeezed the space between midfield and defence. Scored in the shootout. PA -
Mateo Kovacic - 6. The Croat was chasing shadows early on but eased into the match. By the time he was withdrawn in the 66th minute for Kante, he had helped Chelsea restore parity in the midfield. EPA -
Marcos Alonso - 8. The Spaniard’s first touch let him down when he had a chance to score in the first half and he shot wide in the opening moments of the second. Minutes later he hit the bar from a free kick. Scored the first penalty in the shootout. AP -
Mason Mount - 7. It took a while for the 23-year-old to get going but he sent in a cross to Pulisic from which the American should have scored. The longer the game went on, the more space he found. Alisson saved his penalty in the shootout. Reuters -
Christian Pulisic - 7. The American screwed a first-half chance wide and then played in Alonso, who wasted the opportunity. He might have done better when shooting straight at Alisson in the second half and when he shot past the post. Loftus-Cheek replaced him for the final 15 minutes. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku - 6. The Belgian was starved of supply for much of the match and ran the channels powerfully without much reward. He made way for Ziyech with six minutes remaining. Reuters -
SUBS: N’Golo Kante (Kovacic 66') - 7. The Frenchman gave a typically effective performance, snuffing out danger, winning the ball and finding a teammate. AP -
Hakim Ziyech (Lukaku 85') - 6. The Moroccan was muscled to the floor by Konate when making a dangerous run. Scored in the shootout. AP -
Cesar Azpilicueta (Chalobah 105') - 6. The Spaniard brought his experience to the game and was solid. He hit the post in the penalty shootout. Getty -
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Pulisic 105') - 7. The 26-year-old joined the game for the second half of extra time at Pulisic’s expense. He gave his team width and sent in two crosses but was surprisingly substituted for Barkley with two minutes left. PA -
Ross Barkley (Loftus-Cheek 120') - 6 The 28-year-old came on with the game on the verge of penalties. He despatched his spot-kick in style. Reuters -
LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker - 8. The Brazilian was a spectator until he was injured making a stop from Alonso approaching the half hour. After that he made a series of good saves and rarely looked uncomfortable. His shootout save from Mount gave Liverpool the chance to win the cup. AP -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 8. The 23-year-old’s sumptuous ball to Diaz with the outside of his foot showed his class. He found Robertson at the back post but the Scot could not control the ball. His defending was sharp during Chelsea’s good spells and he made three vital interceptions. Scored in the shootout. Reuters -
Ibrahima Konate - 7. The Frenchman showed his strength against Lukaku. His distribution was sometimes poor but his positional play was effective. AP -
Virgil van Dijk - 7. The Dutchman was involved in a physical battle with Lukaku and did not give an inch. He tried to spark attacks with long balls from deep but went off injured at the start of extra time and was replaced by Matip. AP -
Andrew Robertson - 7. The Scot got up in support of Diaz. Mount got in behind him on one occasion but his defending was generally good. He was surprised to find himself open in front of goal from an Alexander-Arnold cross and then hit the post from a Milner centre. Tsimikas replaced him with nine minutes to go. EPA -
Naby Keita - 7. The Guinean pressed with gusto and used the ball cleverly. He also tried to get forward to help the attack. Milner came on for him with 16 minutes to go. AP -
Jordan Henderson - 7. The captain sat deep to replace Fabinho and ensured Liverpool were on top for most of the first half. He did the hard work in midfield and still found time to get forward. Reuters -
Thiago Alcantara - 7. The 31-year-old got a grip on the central areas and was sharp in the tackle. He nearly got on the end of a Daiz cross. His penalty in the shootout was scored with characteristic style. EPA -
Mohamed Salah - 5. The Egyptian saw little of the ball even though Liverpool piled on early pressure before he went down with a groin injury. He was replaced by Jota in the 33rd minute. EPA -
Sadio Mane - 7. The Senegalese worked tirelessly to create space for those around him. Few chances came his way but his movement was excellent. He missed a potentially shootout-winning penalty. AP -
Luis Diaz - 8. The Colombian tormented the defence from the start and could have scored or set up three early goals. He shot just wide three times in the second period and made way for Firmino in the 98th minute. AFP -
SUBS: Diogo Jota (Salah 33') - 7. The Portuguese flicked a chance over the bar before half time and fired wide after the break. Slammed in an powerful penalty in the shootout. AFP -
James Milner (Keita 74') - 7. The 36-year-old immediately made his presence felt with a robust challenge on James and a marvellous cross to Robertson. Scored in the shootout with an unstoppable penalty. Reuters -
Joel Matip (Van Dijk 90') - 7. The 30-year-old's fresh legs came in useful when he was quick to a ball in the area that Pulisic looked set to get to first. AP -
Roberto Firmino (Diaz 98') - 7. The Brazilian dropped deeper in an effort to get on the ball and scored in the shootout after a stuttering run. EPA -
Kosta Tsimikas (Robertson 111') - 8. The Greek was calm and impressive at both ends of the pitch. His penalty won the shootout and the cup for Liverpool. Reuters
"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.
