Chelsea’s miserable record in domestic cup finals continued on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup.
Both sides struggled to create chances in the game, until Antoine Semenyo broke the deadlock with a superb flick past Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea have now lost their last seven domestic cup finals since beating Manchester United in the 2018 FA Cup final.
Next up for the Blues is a crucial Premier League clash against fierce London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday evening, with the Lilywhites still not out of the relegation battle.
In the meantime, though, it has emerged that Chelsea are close to appointing a Premier League icon as their new head coach.
As per TEAMtalk, the west London outfit are close to hiring Xabi Alonso after the Spaniard agreed terms in principle to take charge at Stamford Bridge.
Alonso, 44, has been out of work since being sacked by Spanish giants Real Madrid in January.
Alonso looks set to take charge of Chelsea (Photo: Maciej Rogowski/Alamy)
The ex-Liverpool midfielder had managed both Real Madrid’s academy side and Real Sociedad B before taking charge of Bayer Leverkusen in his first senior role in 2022.
Alonso guided the German side to their first ever Bundesliga title during the 2022/23 campaign, before departing to take charge of Real Madrid in the summer of 2025.
According to the report, the former Spain midfielder has emerged as Chelsea’s first choice candidate to replace Liam Rosenior permanently, with Calum McFarlane currently in caretaker charge.
The two parties are said to have held positive talks this week, and it appears increasingly likely that the former Real boss will take the hot seat at Stamford Bridge this summer.
Alonso had been linked with his former club Liverpool amid uncertainty surrounding the future of Arne Slot, but it appears that the Spaniard will instead be on his way to London.