Edouard Mendy
It was a big decision from Thomas Tuchel to start the Senegal international ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga given the Spanish goalkeeper had played in every previous round, but Mendy justified Tuchel's choice midway through the first half with an exceptional double save to first deny Naby Keita and then Sadio Mane from close range.
Mendy did nearly undo that in the second period when a poor clearance resulted in Mo Salah racing through on goal, but Chelsea's goalkeeper had Thiago Silva to thank for bailing him out with a goal-line clearance.
The Blues' number one went on to make smart stops from Diaz and Andrew Robertson and then denied Virgil van Dijk as the game ticked into added time.
Was brought off for the penalty shootout, but without Mendy's heroics, Chelsea wouldn't have got there. 9
Trevoh Chalobah
Brought into the defence due to Andreas Christensen's injury, Chalobah produced a good early challenge on Diaz, but the South American was perturbed and continued to run at the academy graduate throughout.
It wasn't easy for Chalobah to keep the Liverpool winger in check – Diaz's pace was problematic – but Chelsea's academy graduate did defend his box well when the ball came in and was confident to stride forward with possession when the opportunity presented itself. 8
Thiago Silva
Suffered an early below having been slightly sold short by a Mateo Kovacic pass, but Silva recovered and produce yet another composed performance in the heart of the Chelsea backline.
His crowning moment, however, came in the second period as Silva raced back to clear the ball from under his own crossbar after Salah had beaten Mendy following a poor clearance from the Senegal international. 8
Antonio Rudiger
There is very little new that can be said about Rudiger at this point. His performances have become that consistent, that reliable, that Chelsea fans know what to expect.
The German did well to help restrict the threat of Salah down the right flank and also tucked inside to cover off runs from Sadio Mane. Rudiger could've been a little more composed with his passing but that is very much splitting hairs. 8
Cesar Azpilicueta
With Reece James not ready to start following his injury, Azpilicueta was handed the right wing-back role and fashioned Christian Pulisic's early chance with an expertly weighted pass. The Spaniard did struggle to keep pace with Diaz, although showed his positioning remains second-to-none at the back post.
Unfortunately for the Chelsea captain, he was forced off shortly before the hour mark with an injury. 6
N'Golo Kante
The Frenchman was always going to start the final, especially as he rediscovered his best form on Tuesday night against Lille.
Kante didn't quite reach the same level of performance at Wembley and made a couple of uncharacteristic passes in the second period that set up Liverpool attacks, but he was still an important presence in the Chelsea midfield out of possession and completed the 120 minutes. 7
Mateo Kovacic
Having shaken off the injury he sustained against Lille, Kovacic continued alongside Kante in midfield and was the only Chelsea player in the opening period willing to play the ball forward into space for the likes of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic.
Kovacic's best work was done out of possession but he did play one lovely ball over the Liverpool backline for Timo Werner, whose cross was scored by Kai Havertz before rightly being ruled out for offside.
As the game moved into extra time, Kovacic continued to cover an inordinate amount of ground to shut down the Liverpool midfield. Was brought off at half time of the additional 30 minutes having put in a huge shift. 8
Marcos Alonso
Chelsea's only fit and natural left wing-back has struggled for form over the last two months but produced an improved display at Wembley. Alonso's lack of pace was highlighted when he pushed forward but defensively he was solid and there were a couple of important clearances from inside his own box.
Alonso was far more secure in possession than he has been in recent games and this was a return to the level of performance he showed at the start of the campaign. 7
Mason Mount
Having not featured in the last two matches due to injury, Mount was restored to the side and brought in on the left, almost certainly to help restrict Trent Alexander-Arnold in addition to providing an attacking threat, which he largely did.
The academy graduate had a couple of half-chances before his moment arrived last in the opening period via a Kai Havertz pass, but Mount guided his shot wide of the post from 12 yards out.
He then repeated the unfortunate trick in the second period; the England international struck the post having been put through by Pulisic.
Mount certainly wasn't poor but he wasted two glorious chances. 6
Kai Havertz
Tuchel decided to continue with the German in attack and was rewarded with a performance full of quality and endeavour from Havertz. The German fashioned Mount's glorious first-half opportunity which was put wide by the England international and had the ball in the net in the second period after heading home Werner's cross.
Unfortunately for Havertz, he was denied another cup final goal as Werner was offside in the build-up and the German began to tire in extra time.
The 22-year-old continued to run Liverpool's backline ragged during the extra 30 minutes and had the ball in the back of the net once more after finishing a smart Lukaku cross. But again the flag was raised. 8
Christian Pulisic
The American was moved over to the right flank with Mount back in the side and was presented with a golden opportunity to open the scoring inside the opening six minutes. Unfortunately for Pulisic, his effort was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Chelsea's No.10 was quiet for the remainder of the half but did fashion Mount's glorious chance in the second period that wasn't taken. Was brought off with 17 minutes to play as Tuchel changed up his frontline. 7
Substitutes
Reece James (for Cesar Azpilicueta, 57)
Back after three months out, James started a little nervously but grew into the game as it progressed. His crossing was not quite at its usual level but James will have hugely benefitted from playing more than an hour on his return. 7
Romelu Lukaku (for Mason Mount, 74)
Chelsea's record signing would've wanted to prove a point and he almost snatched a goal in the dying moments of the second period - only a fine stop from Kelleher denied the Belgian. Lukaku was then denied by VAR, which controversially ruled the striker was offside in the build-up to his extra-time strike. 8
Timo Werner (for Christian Pulisic, 74)
Introduced at the same point as Lukaku, Werner didn't have the same kind of impact as the Belgian. He did tee up Havertz's second-half header but was was offside in the build-up. 6
Jorginho (for Mateo Kovacic, 115)
Introduced to freshen up the midfield and, primarily, ahead of the penalty shootout. N/A
Kepa (for Edouard Mendy, 119)
Brought on for the shootout but missed the crucial spot-kick. N/A
