Tuchel repeated Gareth Southgate’s blunder before penalty defeat at Wembley

Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea fell at the hands of Liverpool in Saturday's FA Cup final but one eagle-eyed football fan picked up on one tactical blunder that left his side short going into the spot-kicks.

After 120 minutes without a goal to split the sides, penalties were needed to separate the two teams. The London side expected to have the psychological edge over Jurgen Klopp's side when the coin toss saw the players shooting toward the Chelsea fans.

Despite this, Liverpool managed to win their eighth FA Cup when Kostas Tsimikas slotted home the winning penalty. A football psychologist pointed out one key factor in Tuchel's tactics that may have led to his side's downfall.

Geir Jordet took to Twitter to explain that Klopp and Tuchel's approaches to the shootout were miles apart, with Klopp speaking to each player individually within a couple of minutes, compared to Tuchel who spent a number of minutes preparing notes for a team huddle.

One tweet from Jordet explained: "Tuchel spent the first 1-2 minutes seemingly revising his selection, and (probably) from the corner of his eye sees that Liverpool has already finished their huddle before Chelsea has even started it. He then moves to the middle of the circle BEFORE he is done with the plan."

The next tweet from the professor of sports psychology compared Tuchel's approach to Gareth Southgate's before the penalty shootout at the Euros 2021 final. He wrote: "Entering the circle of players before you've completed the selection is what happened to Gareth Southgate in the 2021 Euros final – you’re late, not ready, become reactive, and what could have been a smooth final reminder to the team becomes erratic, rushed & stressed."

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While this may not be a major part in the result of the match, it appears to have played a part in the mindset of the players, with Klopp's side managing to stand closer to the bench due to them finishing their team talk minutes before Chelsea, as Jordet explains.

Jordet even points out that while Tuchel is trying to organise his penalty takers, Klopp is already laughing with Virgil van Dijk on the sidelines. He tweeted: "While Tuchel is still in the process of selecting and asking his players, Klopp has finished all his administrative duties and spends his time spreading warmth, love and good energy; even taking a moment to have a laugh with van Dijk."

Another part of the penalty kicks that was tipped as playing a part in the way the result unfolded was goalkeeper Alisson's efforts to ensure he handed the ball to each player as they stepped up to take the penalties. This comes after the shootout in February at the end of the Carabao Cup final when Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga tried to get in the heads of the Liverpool players as they stepped up to face him.

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