It just hasn't been Chelsea's season this year.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have been underwhelming in the Premier League – to put it mildly – and they blew their best chance at silverware on Sunday afternoon as they fell to a painful 1-0 defeat at the hands of Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool in the League Cup final.
Given the Reds' lineup, it was a game that the Blues probably should have won, and while they did have their fair share of chances, it just wasn't meant to be.
There were several lacklustre performers for the west Londoners on the day who should find themselves on the bench against Leeds United in the FA Cup tonight, with Raheem Sterling being one of them.
Raheem Sterling's game in numbers at Wembley
It was a game to forget for the Blues' most experienced attacker, as Sterling failed to make any real impact on the affair whatsoever.
This general ineffectiveness was noted by the Standard's Dan Kilpatrick, who awarded the former Manchester City ace a 5/10 for his performance, claiming that he 'wasted a couple of decent openings with poor control.'
However, it was more than just wasted chances and poor control that made Sterling's performance stand out, as according to his individual numbers, he was a passenger.
For example, in his 67 minutes of action, the 29-year-old attempted zero crosses, had zero shots, failed in all three of his attempted dribbles, won none of his seven duels, lost the ball seven times – once every 9.5 minutes – and completed a paltry eight passes.
Minutes
67'
Goals + Assists
0
Accurate Passes
8/10 (80%)
Crosses
0
Shots
0
Dribbles Attempted (Successful)
3 (0)
Duels (won)
7 (0)
Possession Lost
7
Nevertheless, football is a game of such fine margins, and if Nicolas Jackson had just remained onside in the 34th minute, Sterling could have been the matchwinner.
With that said, there was another player who started on Chelsea's left-hand side who could have a claim to being just as disappointing as the Kingston-born dynamo.
Ben Chilwell's game in numbers vs Liverpool
Yes, while Sterling has received a significant amount of criticism for his woeful display against Liverpool on Sunday, his teammate behind him, Ben Chilwell, was arguably just as poor.
The former Leicester City man received a slightly higher match rating of 6/10 from the Standard's Kilpatrick.
However, the journalist was still unimpressed and claimed that 'several attacks broke down at his feet and he looked a bit rusty defensively in the face of Liverpool's press.'
If anything, the extra mark may be too generous as that assessment seems more damning than Sterling's, which is backed up by the left-back's terrible numbers from the game.
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In his 113 minutes of action, the 27-year-old won just two of his four aerial duels, maintained a passing accuracy of 69%, completed just one of his five attempted crosses, just two of his eight attempted long balls, failed in his one dribble and, worst of all, lost possession 27 times, which equates to once every four minutes.
Minutes
113'
Goals + Assists
0
Aerial Duels (won)
4 (2)
Possession Lost
23
Fouls
1
Accurate Passes
29/42 (69%)
Crosses (Accurate)
5 (1)
Long Balls (Accurate)
8 (2)
Dribbles (Successful)
1 (0)
It was a truly shocking performance from the Blues' stand-in captain, with perhaps his most notable contribution being his tussle with Conor Bradley in the first half – which was undignified in and of itself.
Ultimately, it's a result that Pochettino must put behind the team as quickly as possible, and with the mouthwatering meeting with high-flying Championship side, Leeds to come this evening, he must drop both Sterling and Chilwell.