Their fans sang the song of the champions but Chelsea they did not step out at Wembley like the team which destroyed all before them on the way to the Premier League title.
They looked as though minds were elsewhere. It wasn't only the players who allowed their focus drift. They even forgot to pull on their black armbands in the first-half.
Chelsea had not played in a meaningful game for more than a fortnight and suddenly pertinent questions were thrown into the air about what had been going on since that jubilant night at The Hawthorns.