Chelsea dubbed 'The Blue Billion Pound Bottlejobs' after Carabao Cup final defeat

Cameron Smith

• 25 Feb 2024 12:00 CST
• 3 min read

Gary Neville has labelled Chelsea ‘The Blue Billion Pound Bottlejobs’ after their 1-0 defeat against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.

The game looked as though it was heading for penalties at Wembley before Virgil van Dijk powered home a 118th minute header to deny Mauricio Pochettino a first major honour in English football.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were depleted with injuries, yet they were deserving winners at Wembley as Chelsea lost a sixth successive final at the home of England’s national football team.

Liverpool had 11 senior players out injured and ended the match with academy stars Bobby Clark, James McConnell and Jayden Danns all on the pitch.

Chelsea missed several guilt-edged chances during the match, with Caoimhin Kelleher stepping up once again during a cup final, just like he did in the 2022 Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals.

Van Dijk even had a goal controversially ruled out in normal time after Endo was adjudged to have impacted Chelsea defender Levi Colwill in the build-up.

However, it didn’t matter in the end, with the Dutchman finding the back of the net once again as the game edged towards penalties.

Chelsea’s ‘Billion Pound Bottlejobs’

When Van Dijk’s header shot past Djordje Petrovic in the 118th minute, Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville delivered a phrase that has now done the rounds on social media.

He said: “It's Klopp's kids against The Blues Billion Pound Bottlejobs.

“I don't have any sympathy for Chelsea.”

Conor Gallagher and Cole Palmer both missed huge chances during normal time at Wembley, and Pochettino’s side paid the price for dropping too deep in extra-time as Liverpool began ramping up the pressure.

The Blues have endured a tricky campaign and victory at Wembley could’ve been the turning point for a currently failing era under Todd Boehly’s ownership.

Although their squad is incredibly young, over £1 billion has been spent on transfers since Boehly arrived but that investment has yielded no success thus far.