Mauricio Pochettino identifies what Preston North End did better than Chelsea for 45 minutes
Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez scored the goals as Chelsea won 4-0 in the FA Cup
Mauricio Pochettino
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was a happy manager come full time against Preston North End, but only after stern half time words. The Lilywhites were dumped out of the FA Cup by the Premier League giants, who scored all of their goals in the second half of Saturday evening’s tie. Armando Broja broke the deadlock at Stamford Bridge, before strikes from Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez.
Manager Ryan Lowe consistently praised[1] his side’s performance for just under an hour in the capital – before his players fatigued and Chelsea found their groove. Pochettino was impressed with PNE in the first half especially and knew his side had to raise their game, despite the gulf in quality between the two squads. “Yes a very good win,” said Pochettino. “The first half I was a little disappointed.
We started so sloppy. I told the players at half-time we needed to increase the energy and match that of Preston. The second half was a completely different game.
We dominated, created chances and deserved victory. We showed a lack of desire in the first half and we were talking too much about their energy. They were better than us in this area.
I was really disappointed but after we increased our level we started to play and deserved to win.” He added: “We are a young team that needs to be built through results, but also performances, to get confidence. I think it’s a massive responsibility because we are Chelsea.
Of course I’m enjoying it. That is the pressure. I’m a coach that loves to win and be competitive but, at the same time, we need to give time to the young kids so they can improve and mature.
We need to find a balance.
It’s a matter of time before the team will perform because we have the quality, we have a group and team to be better.”
References
- ^ consistently praised (t.co)